


Be My Hero and I'll Be Yours

by ChronicComicObsession



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kidnapping, Mentions of weapons, Nothing big but if you don’t like reading about bruises don’t read this lol, Trust Issues, small injuries, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26131063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChronicComicObsession/pseuds/ChronicComicObsession
Summary: Indi loved being a hero, but it came with the drawback of having to keep everyone in her life at arm's length. After her friend goes missing, she is forced to ally with a masked man to have any hope of finding her. A new arrival in town and the frustrating allure of her new work partner threaten to send her walls crumbling down, but at what cost?
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 109
Kudos: 48





	1. Mission: Who is He?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic and I'm unbelievably anxious to post! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! Thank you to everyone on Reddit who helped me edit and served as beta readers!

**Indi POV**

I had just walked back into our room when she rushed over to me, eyes wide with fear. “Where the hell have you been and why haven’t you been answering your damn phone?? There was a shoot out by the south hall!” 

“It’s alright Loz I was getting some studying done when I heard the shots. I stayed holed up in the library until everything was cleared out. Do you know if anyone is hurt?”

“That’s the craziest part! Before the bullet even left the gun one of the bastards had it ripped out of his hand! Some girl in a hoodie had whipped past him fast as lightning and taken it! She shot the other guys and was gone just as fast. It was crazy!! The police couldn’t find the girl but I don’t think they even really wanted to.”

“Holy shit!! How is that even possible?” I said, trying my best to sound surprised.

“I have no idea. I saw this in my tea leaves though. Danger was coming but someone was going to intercept it.” She sat down at her desk, twirling the dyed ends of her hair around her finger. She seemed deep in thought but not suspicious. 

_ Okay my secret’s still safe.  _ “Well thank god for blue hoodie girl huh.”

Suddenly her expression changed, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow.  _ Shit _ . ”I never said her hoodie was blue.”

_ Fuck fuck fuck gotta backpedal. _ “Someone on the walk back from the library was talking about her. They mentioned her hoodie was blue.”  _ Can she hear my heart pounding? _

Squinting her eyes at me, I could tell she wasn’t convinced. “I thought you didn’t know what happened. Come on Indi I know that face. You’re hiding something.”

_ Shit _ . Knowing Lottie, this will never be dropped. _ May as well come clean. _ Sighing, I sat down on my bed and motioned for her to join me. As she sat next me I told her everything. 

“As a kid I would always do the whole ‘I went to the park and came back already, I was just so fast you couldn’t see me’ joke, except I wasn’t joking. My parents always laughed and laughed until they eventually got so tired of the ‘joke’ that they’d yell any time I tried to explain. So, I hid it.

It wasn’t until I was in university that I decided to use my power for good. Having moved here, far away from my parents in New Jersey, to study journalism, I started to learn to think for myself. I realized I didn’t have to be ashamed of who I was or the powers I had.”

She sat silently, listening intently. After I finished word vomiting my life story, she stared at me blankly for a long while. “So you’re telling me you can run all the way to the library and back before I could even stand up?” I could see a mix of disbelief and fury behind her green eyes.

“I mean I guess if you want to give it a try.” I deadpanned, trying to lift the mood.

“Not the time Indi,” she said, shooting me a glare, “How often do you just run off to god knows where and come back before anyone knows you’re gone? How often have you lied to me about where you were and what you were doing?” She shot up off the bed, running her hands through her hair while she paced back and forth.

“I’m so sorry Lottie! That’s not something you can really just come out with. ‘Hi I’m Indi your new roommate and also I inexplicably have these crazy superpowers so sometimes I just decide to stop crime.’”

“I guess that’s true but oh my fucking god Indi were you ever even gonna tell me??” She started pacing faster, growing angrier by the second.

“I don’t know! It’s not something I just go around telling people. I don’t exactly want to end up as a lab rat or in a jail cell, since technically I break the law all the time.”

“But it’s me Di! We’ve known each other three years now! I’ve told you things I’ve never told anyone!” Her voice growing more and more upset and her eyes growing more and more frantic with every sentence.

“I know Lozza and I’m so honored that you trust me like that! But this isn’t just some simple secret!”

We went back and forth like that until we both ran out of breath. As we sat in silence, Lottie’s expression grew more and more soft, the rage in her eyes fading into concern.

“Look Di, I get it.That’s not something you can just tell someone. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. It was just a lot to take in at once.”

“That’s fair,” I said with a light laugh.

“I promise your secret is safe with me,” holding out her pinky.

I chuckled and wrapped her pinky in mine.

  
  


Along with being my new confidant, she also provided an unexpected benefit: a much better costume. I started in black leggings, a blue hoodie and ski mask, which wasn’t exactly ideal. Lottie transformed me into a badass beauty. A cobalt body suit with the legs cutoff into shorts, layered overtop a pair of dark blue fishnets and black combat ankle boots proved to be both comfortable and mysterious, topped off with my long, curly auburn locks tied in a top knot and a dark blue eye mask. She insisted on colored contacts, turning my normally green eyes into a striking purple. She even installed a voice distorter to further hide my identity.

“Oh Lotta you’re an absolute genius!” I said, turning side to side in our full length mirror, taking in my new look.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder, smirking. “”I know. I expect you to go to bed every night singing my praises.”

“Oh honey I’ll sacrifice my first born to you if you need it,” I replied with a grin.

She clutched her sides laughing, “You know I’m not that kind of witch babes, but thanks all the same.”

*******************

With my new style improvements I figured I could move beyond campus crimes, taking on wrongdoing on a larger scale. It wasn’t long before social media started calling me ‘Rocket’, which to my surprise I actually didn’t hate. I figured it had a better ring to it than ‘fast woman in blue that sometimes helps people’ so I let it stick.

After uni I ended up landing a job as an editor at the local paper in downtown Edinburgh. I had honestly fallen in love with the city, and there was no way in hell I was moving back to America. I found a decent apartment near work and some friends from uni so we could keep in contact. I managed to negotiate being a contracted editor, keeping me off the website and permanent employee list. I always had to be careful.

While I usually use a police scanner to figure out where my help is needed, this mission was personal. I noticed for the past few days one of the reporters, Kirstie Anderson, hadn’t shown up to work.

********************

Kirstie was one of the nicest people I had ever met. Going into the office the first day was beyond nerve wracking. I had thrown grown men off the tops of buildings and pulled children out the rubble of collapsed buildings but somehow walking through the revolving doors of a newspaper office building made my palms sweat more.

The doors opened to reveal large vaulted ceilings, matte white lined with chrome. The main room was massive with smaller rooms branching off along each wall. Throughout the room there were various clumps of desks, some neat and orderly and some covered in sticky notes, old coffee cups, and stacks of papers. I felt like I was going to pass out taking it all in.

That’s when Kirstie bounded up to me, her blonde ponytail swinging and bright smile showing her dimples. Her positive energy was enough to calm my nerves.

“Hi! You must be Indi!”

“Yup that’s me,” giving her the best smile I could muster.

“It’s so wonderful to meet you! My name’s Kirstie and I’ll be giving you the quick office rundown today! Your blouse is so lovely! It really compliments your eyes!”

I looked down at my plain burgundy peasant blouse. I had honestly grabbed it quickly, trying to not overthink, as I tend to do. “That’s very sweet thank you!”

From then on we became really close friends. We ate lunch together everyday at work and even went and got drinks on most weekends. She was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

**************

I called her a few times over the next few days but she never picked up. I got more and more concerned with every unanswered call. Her phone was practically glued to her hand so to go this long without answering it was a really bad sign. Eventually I decided to swing by her place to check on her.

Once I got to her apartment, I knocked on the door. After a few knocks without an answer I checked that the coast was clear, then leaned down to pick the lock. To my surprise, I found the lock had already been picked. Bad sign.

Upon entering her apartment, things went from bad to worse. Clothes were strewn around the floor, plants knocked off the shelves, and one of the bar stools was knocked over. Kirstie was very particular about organization and order, so to find her home in such disarray was incredibly concerning. The most concerning discovery, however, was a faint sweet but slightly pungent smell on her dish towel. Chloroform.

Just then I heard movement coming from the bedroom. I approached the outside of the door cautiously, listening intently. “Shit who the feck hangs plants from the ceiling of their bedroom?? That’s what tables are for ye eejit. Only Kirstie” That’s when I burst through the door and slammed the mystery man against the wall at top speed.

After catching his breath, he looked down at me. He was at least a good head taller than me with a thinner, albeit fairly muscular build. The only other distinct features I could make out were a pair of large amber eyes and cheeky smirk on his tan skin. He was wearing a black rough textured cotton tank top and matching pants, tucked into dark brown hiking boots. Over his tank he wore a black leather vest, its hood pulled up over his head with a black eye mask across his face.

“Well yer a fast one aren’t ye,” he said with a chuckle, his voice electronically distorted. His cavalier attitude about being caught in a missing girl’s bedroom got under my skin.

“Very clever asshole. Now would you care to explain what you’re doing in my friend’s apartment after she’s just gone missing?” He only chuckled more, making me even more annoyed. 

“Ah get the feeling no matter what Ah say yer goin’ tae assume Ahm up to no good.” Despite my annoyance I couldn’t help but smirk just a touch at the audacity of making cheeky remarks when I could easily throw him out a 10 th story window.

“Ah well looks like our time is up, but ah hope tae see ya soon lassie,” he said just before snapping his fingers. 

Seconds later the plant pots above us exploded, blasting dirt all over both of us. I jerked back in shock, giving him just enough time to wink at me before ducking back out the window. I leaned out the window looking for him. Somehow, he was already out of sight. But it seemed he hadn’t noticed the tracker I pinned to his vest.


	2. Mission: Someone to Heal My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new partnership is made and a flame is reignited that was thought to be long dead.

**Bobby POV**

I thought the best way to get into Kirstie’s apartment would be through the window since going through the front door would probably make it look like I’m the one who snatched her. Maybe that plan would’ve worked out if it weren’t for her. The girl in blue. The wrinkle in my plan.

Thankfully hopping on the roof seemed to work. It didn’t look like she had followed me. At the end of the building I went down the fire escape and started to head home. When I reached to adjust my vest I noticed something strange along the outer seam. Upon further inspection, there was a small silver disc, blinking green.  _ That clever little minx. I may have underestimated you Speedy. _

But I needed to find a place away from my flat to lead her to. Maybe then I could convince her that I’m not the bad guy here.

**********

I decided on an old building of abandoned flats on the other side of town, far away from my actual home. With each step I took the concrete of the roof crumbled a bit under my feet. I was starting to wonder if this may have been a bad idea. I thought maybe I should’ve just tossed the tracker in a storm drain, but my train of thought was cut off by the sharp sound of something fast cutting through the air. I turned to see her standing behind me, hands on her hips.

Speedy looked even more annoyed than she did in Kirstie’s apartment, sharp huffs escaping her nose with every breath. “Really dude?? Not funny,” she spat. Her voice sounded Scottish, but not in a natural way. She obviously wore a voice distorter too, but I couldn’t decide if her accent was real or not.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hey yer the one who bugged me.”

“I’m not stalking you for shits and giggles, I’m trying to find out what happened to Kirstie.” The confidence she exuded was incredible, the way she stood tall, staring directly in my eyes without fear. Despite her small stature she was unwavering. I felt more self assured just standing in her presence.

“Has it still not occurred tae ye that I wan’ tae find her too?”

She stared at me for what felt like forever, studying my features. Her brow furrowed in concentration, full lips pursed into a thin line. How could someone look so cute and sexy at the same time?  _ God focus McKenzie not the time. _

Eventually it appeared she was at least willing to entertain the idea that she could trust me. “Okay let’s say I believe you. Why do you care about Kirstie?”

“Her brother Scott is one of my mates. He’s worried about ‘er. Why do ye care about ‘er?” I left out the fact that we grew up together, trying to keep things as vague as possible. I needed to keep my cards to my chest. I wasn’t looking to risk revealing my identity to a total stranger.

“Kirstie and Scott are my friends. Although I don’t recall him mentioning he had a friend who got his kicks running around in leather and breaking plant pots,” she said with a slight smirk. I could tell she was trying to maintain her tough exterior but couldn’t help making a sarcastic remark.  _ My kind of woman. _

“Well I don’t recall Kirstie mentioning she had a friend who got ‘er kicks running around real fast in fishnets attachin’ trackers to people.” I wasn’t about to be outdone when it came to sarcastic jokes.

Her eyes looked angry but I could see a hint of a smile playing at the corner of her lips. “Well regardless of what each of us does for fun, we need to focus on Kirstie right now.” While she was right, I couldn’t stop the desire tugging at me to get to know her. To be around her, make her laugh, maybe even eventually let her in. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Not since Priya.

“Well as much as Ah’d love to hear about what ye do for fun, I think yer right. So what do ye want tae do moving forward?”  _ Please god say you want to work together. I might not be able to be with you as Bobby but your presence is so intoxicating I’d settle for being around you just as Tsunami. _

Despite keeping her confident demeanor, I could see the war going on in her mind, her eyes clouded with indecision and her body tense with frustration. It was the same one that went on in mine constantly.

“I’m not exactly the group work type so if you know anything about what might have happened to Kirstie that you’d like to share with the class be my guest. If not I think I’ll be on my way.”  _ No! _

“But don’ ye think we could get more done as a team?” I tried to sound casual but I was silently begging for her to say yes.

She squinted her eyes and cocked her head a bit. “How would we even keep in contact? Am I supposed to get a burner phone like some kind of drug kingpin? Not really my speed.”

_ I shouldn’t make a speed pun. I shouldn’t make a speed pun. I shouldn’t make a speed pun. Ah feck it when have I ever let a pun opportunity pass me by.  _ “Not yer  _ speed,  _ eh? Well Ah hope ye don’t do a  _ runner  _ before we think of a plan.”

She rolled her eyes, but I saw her fighting down a smile again. “Let’s stay on topic please. I didn’t follow you to make a new friend,” she grumbled. She still had that amused glint behind her eyes though, so I chose to call that a win.

“Aw and here Ah was hoping we could make matching bracelets,” I teased, earning an annoyed look from her. “Alright here’s my idea. Feel free tae sarcastically shoot it down if ye’d like: if one of us needs to see the other we call the prank call the polis with something ridiculous and then meet here. Ah figure Ahm right in assumin’ ye have a polis scanner.” I watched as she mulled it over in her head.  _ Please for the love of god say yes. I’d sell my soul to Satan if it meant I’d see you again. _

Finally a look of defeat washed over her face. “Fine. But this is temporary. We’re not turning into Batman and Robin.”

_ YES!  _ “Deal. Although if we did, Ah would totally be Batman.”

She quirked her eyebrow up at that, a mischievous smirk playing at the corner of her lips. “Whatever helps you sleep at night Robin,” she replied with a small chuckle.

My hand flew up to my chest in mock hurt. “Ye really think Ahm the Robin of this duo?? Way to kill a lad’s confidence.”

That time she actually let herself smile. “Oh I don’t think you’re Robin hun, I know you are.” 

_ God she’s cheeky. This is exactly what I needed after the week I’ve had. Hell the past 3 years I’ve had.  _ “Well Ah imagine ye need to take the Batmobile back home so Ah suppose Ah’ll be waiting for your call. Or Ah guess the polis will,” I said with a wink. 

As I turned to leave I felt her eyes still on me, burning into the back of my head. I turned to see her still standing where she was, staring at me with a furrowed brow. 

“If ye wanted to stare at me bum darlin’ all ye had to do was ask,” I said with a cheeky smirk.

She rolled her eyes at me. “And you say I killed your confidence. I’d hate to see what your ego is full size,” she retorted, “I was actually trying to figure out how you broke the pots.”

_ There it is.  _ “If ye wanted to ken you could have just asked lass. Did you ever watch Avatar the Last Airbender as a kid?” She squinted her eyes before tentatively nodding her head, clearly confused as to how that was relevant, “Well Ahm basically Aang. Ah can control the four basic elements, so Ah didn’t break the pots. Ah moved the dirt.”

She studied me silently for a few moments until I saw her adorable half smile again, “So is the hood to hide your bald head with an arrow down the middle?”

I couldn’t help but full-on belly laugh, “Ye caught me.”

“Well I guess I’ll be seeing you Aang.”

“Guess Ah’ll be seeing ye Speedy.”

She stopped for a moment, looking like she wanted to respond but seemed to decide against before whizzing off.

  
As I walked home the reality of my situation set in.  _ Kirstie is missing, I have almost no leads and I’ve finally found a girl I want to spend more than just the night with since I lost Priya and I’ll probably never know who she actually is. How did I get so royally fucked in less than a day? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this far! Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	3. Mission: Dinner Won’t Hurt Anything, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After paying Scott a visit, Indi finds herself weak at the knees for one of Scott and Kirstie's old friends. Indi swore long ago to never date, but just one night to clear her head will be fine, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left kudos and sweet comments or sent kind messages! Your support means everything to me! I've always loved writing but have been to shy and self-conscious to share anything so this was a massive step outside my comfort zone and I'm so blown away by everyone's support! Thanks for reading :)

**Indi POV**

When I woke up I hoped I would stop thinking about ‘Aang’. No such luck.  _ Sheesh Indi get a fucking grip. It was just a bit of cheeky banter with some masked rando on a roof. He’s gonna help you find Kirstie and then you’ll never see him again. _

After a shower to clear my head I decided to go over to Scott’s to check on him. He had been worried sick about Kirstie, and was now full on distraught after the police called confirming it was a suspected kidnapping. I figured they were called not too long after Aang and I left.  _ God I have to stop calling him that. Unless that’s what he goes by. Oh dear god I hope that’s not what he goes by. Then again he may not be big enough to even have a ‘superhero name’ so to speak. I’ve never heard of someone like him. _

I texted Scott to make sure he was home. After receiving confirmation, I got in my car and drove over. I know me having a car seems strange but sometimes I can’t afford getting places suspiciously fast. Also I get tired sometimes too ya know.

I pulled up to Scott’s apartment building and got him to buzz me up. Walking in I knew just how much of a wreck he was. He lived in a smaller one bedroom flat, but he easily made it seem cozy and homey. He had different paintings, posters and family photos throughout the place to adorn the bland gray walls. He didn’t have a ton of furniture, but he made every piece count, using colors and patterns to effectively pull everything together. He seemed to know a lot about interior design considering he was an accountant but I never really thought too much about it.

Walking in today you wouldn’t know that. There were old pizza boxes and beer bottles strewn across the couch and coffee table. The pictures all had a fine layer of dust and the usually well-loved kitchen looked like it hadn’t been touched in days.

But none of that compared to how Scott himself looked. He was slumped over on the couch, his usually well-kempt blonde hair was sticking out in all different directions and looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. He was wearing an old t-shirt and running shorts, a stark contrast from his usual polo and khakis. His eyes were sunken and his skin was gray. He had said he was worried about her not showing up to work, but I didn’t know it had gotten this bad. 

Scott was 29, only 2 years older than Kirstie and me. Being so close in age, they did everything together as kids, so I imagine having her gone was like losing a piece of himself.

After setting my stuff down I approached Scott and sat next to him on the couch.  _ God he looks even worse up close. _ “Hey hun have you eaten breakfast yet?” I tried my best to not sound condescending but I’m not sure how effective I was. He shook his head. “Alright well I can whip us up something if you wanna get a shower in while I get that ready.” He gave a small nod before pushing himself up with a small grunt and walking back towards his bedroom. After hearing the shower cut on I turned to the kitchen. I found some eggs and a loaf of bread, so I figured eggs and toast would do. I wasn’t exactly a chef but I figured it was at least better than old pizza.

As I was finishing up breakfast Scott came out from his bedroom. While the shower had definitely improved things, he was nowhere near his normal self, but a bit better would have to do for now.  _ I’ll find you Kirstie. I promise. _

Just as I was about to ask how many slices of toast he wanted the front door swung open. A tall man with tan skin and short dreads walked in. He wasn’t super ripped, but he was still muscular, just in a more lean way. As he turned I saw he was wearing a blue short sleeve button-up with the top few buttons undone and khaki shorts. He had a constellation of freckles across his cheeks and chest. His large amber eyes were warm and inviting. He looked familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

“Hey Scott Ah hope it’s alright that Ah used the key ye gave me Ah dinnae want to bother ye in case ye were-” 

He stopped short when he saw me standing in the kitchen. “Oh sorry Ah dinnae realize ye had company Ah can come back later.” He turned to walk out the door before Scott spoke for the first time today.

“It’s alright this is one of Kirstie’s mates, Indi. Indi this is Bobby, our neighbor in Glasgow growing up. He lives a few blocks down so he came to check on me.”

Bobby took that as an invitation, coming over and reaching out his hand, “Pleasure to meet ya lass,” he said with possibly the most charming smile I’d ever seen in my life.  _ God I bet he’s melted panties with that smile alone. Wait stop it Indi! First Aang and now this guy? You just met this dude! And one night stands are out of the question while we search for Kirstie. What about a good old fashioned car makeout session? That’d be alright wouldn’t it? Wait shit how long have I been standing here just staring??  _

Shaking my head and hoping to god I wasn’t blushing too hard, I gave him a friendly handshake.  _ He has amazing hands. Wonder what those hands could do...oh fuck no stop!  _ Among my racing thoughts all I managed to get out was a feeble ‘same’ before I stepped back to finish breakfast. All of a sudden I was self-conscious about my appearance. I was only expecting to see Scott so I just threw on a t-shirt and jean shorts and braided my hair. I didn’t realize handsome strangers were coming over.

“Ye American?” he asked while I fiddled with things in the kitchen to keep myself away from my train of indecent thoughts. It took me arguably too long to register that he was talking to me, especially given the fact that I was the only non-Scottish person in the room.

“Uh yeah I moved here for university and ended up staying after graduating,” I managed to stumble through.  _ I’m just glad I formed a coherent sentence at all. Why am I so flustered by this guy? _

After breakfast Bobby and Scott moved to the couch to watch TV while I cleaned up in the kitchen. Them being in the living room gave me a chance to clear my head. 

There was something about Bobby I couldn’t place. It’s not like I had never seen an attractive guy, I had even had a few hookups over the years. But this was different. I mean yeah part of it was my intense desire to drop to my knees when he made eye contact with me, but that wasn’t the only thing. His laugh was infectious and his obvious care and concern for Scott was heartwarming.

But I decided a long time ago that dating was a bad idea. It’s damn near impossible to let people get close and not blow your cover, and relationships are inherently meant for people to get close. So I choose to just not let myself even enter that arena.

I had gotten so lost in my own thoughts I hadn't noticed the eggs I put on for Bobby were starting to burn. I rushed over to turn the stove off, but froze when I got there.  _ Oh shit how fast did I run over here. Fuck I hope Scott and Bobby didn’t notice.  _ I slowly turned to look at them. Thankfully they were so engrossed in their conversation they didn’t see me.

**********

Bobby and I kept Scott company up until the early afternoon. At that point he seemed to have cheered up enough that he could manage on his own and I had a few op-eds at home that I needed to look over. Bobby said he had some things he needed to take care of too so we decided to head out.

On our way out I couldn’t help but notice the way his biceps flexed when he pulled the door open.  _ God it’s been way too long. One night couldn’t hurt right? That wouldn’t be disrespectful to Kirstie if it helped me focus. And she needs my full attention so I may as well get it out of my system, right? _

Just then Bobby spoke, interrupting my thirsty thoughts. “Ye think Scott’s gonna be alright?” he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

“I think so. But the sooner Kirstie is found the better. The longer this goes on the worse the situation gets, for everyone.”

“Yer right. Ah hope the polis get some leads soon. Ahm worried too. Ah just can’ think of anyone who’d wan’ tae hurt her.”

“Me either. She’s one of the sweetest people I know. I can’t imagine people even being annoyed with her, much less angry enough to abduct her. And it’s not like their family is rich enough for this to be money motivated.”

He nodded in agreement. After a few moments the concern on his face wore off, replaced by a slight smirk. “So do ye have any plans tonight? Ah think being alone might do me head in. Maybe having a lovely lass keep me company might help,” he said with a wink.

His question caught me off guard.  _ Can he read my mind?? Did he hear me silently begging to spend a night with him? Kirstie would want me to have a little fun right? She wouldn’t be mad at me right? I should probably stop overthinking and just answer him.  _ “Yeah that might be best I tend to overthink when I’m alone. Besides work isn’t gonna procrastinate itself.”

He chuckled, his deep voice vibrating in his chest, “Well Ah can certainly help with that. Procrastinating is one of my many talents.”

_ Many talents huh? I wonder what some of your other ones are.  _ “Well then it’s a date. Did you want to get dinner somewhere? There’s a place not far from my apartment that makes great burgers.”

His eyes lit up at the mention of food. “Actually Ah was hoping Ah could make ye something. Ahm a pretty good cook, if Ah do say so myself.”

_ Hmmm that might not be a bad idea. Cut down on travel time to his bed.  _ “Oh a handsome man who can cook too? Are you sure you’re from Glasgow or did you walk out of my dreams?”

“Oh so ye think Ahm handsome? And here Ah thought Ah was just a means to avoid doing yer job,” he joked with a cheeky smirk.

“Well yer the one who called me a lovely lass Ah figured Ah’d return the favor,” I retorted in my best imitation of a Scottish accent.

“Yer lucky Ah think yer cute or Ah would cancel just for that butchered Scottish accent,” he replied, playfully bumping me with his hip.

I rolled my eyes but still let out a small laugh, “Well I guess I should head home before you change your mind then. I’ll give you my number so you can text me your address. Is 7 o’clock a good time?”

He handed me his phone with a small snort, “Sounds great darlin’ see ye then.”

  
After putting my number in I handed back his phone and headed to my car, a small smile on my face.  _ Hopefully after tonight I can get my head back on straight and figure out my next steps in my search for Kirstie. But for now I need to get ready for dinner. _


	4. Mission: A Little Green Dress and a Big Change of Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby makes dinner for Indi with the hopes of earning a one night stand. However he quickly learns he's gonna get a lot more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Bobby POV**

I spent the next few hours getting a pad thai dish prepared. She didn’t say if she liked spicy food but I figured it was worth a shot. Worst comes to worst I could make some hamburgers as a backup. But pad thai was one of my favorite dishes to make and, in my opinion, one of my best tasting as well so I went ahead and went with it. 

After putting the finishing touches on dinner, I went to my closet to pick out an outfit. I’ve never been very good at fashion so I decided to FaceTime one of my mates, Gary. He usually gave pretty good advice and definitely didn’t have a problem wooing women.

After ringing a few times Gary picked up. He was wearing his nicest pair of black framed glasses over his blue eyes and had his short blonde hair spiked up a bit. I immediately knew he was going on a date. “What’s going on bruv? I don’t have a ton of time. I'm taking a new bird out in a bit.”

I rolled my eyes, “Of course ye are. But on a similar note Ah have a lass coming over tonigh’ and Ah need some help picking out an outfit.”

He started laughing, “Oi Bobby found himself a bird?! Is she blind? Or deaf? Or both?!” He started laughing even harder.

I rolled my eyes even harder at that, “Ah’ll have ye know she not only has great eyesight and hearing, she’s very attractive. Therefore Ah need something nice tae wear or she might come tae her senses and leave.”

At this point he was laughing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face. Once he caught his breath he replied, “Alright I’m kinda busy but I’ll put you on with my nan she’ll sort ya right out.”

Suddenly the phone was passed to Gary’s nan. She was an older woman with gray hair, blue eyes and small cat-eye glasses that sat low on the bridge of her nose. After we finished up greetings and general catching up we moved on to my clothes. After quite a few rejected outfits we landed on a black polo and khaki shorts. It felt a bit stuffy to me but she said it made me look ‘dashing’.

**********

A few minutes before 7 o’clock I heard a knock. After straightening my collar and rolling a few of my locs in my hands I opened the door. The second I saw her I felt all the breath leave my lungs. She was wearing a tight forest green dress that hugged her curves down to her mid thighs paired with dark blue flats. Her auburn hair was lightly curled, flowing down to the bottom of her breasts. She was wearing only a bit of makeup to accentuate her bright green eyes and high cheekbones. I gulped hard, trying to form a sentence, but no words would come to me.

She didn’t seem to have the same problem, “You look nice,” she said with bright eyes and a pretty smile. 

Finally my brain slowed down enough to talk, “As do ye lass,” I replied smiling down at her.  _ Damn she’s short. Would she be offended if I asked her how tall she is? _

“It smells amazing in here. What’d you cook for dinner?” she asked as she looked around my flat. I knew it was nothing special, but suddenly I was more self conscious about it than usual. It was relatively small with simple ikea furniture I found on sale. Everything was fairly bland with only a few old family photos on the wall. I was never much of a decorator, especially now that I lived alone. 

“Ah made some pad thai but if ye don’t like that Ah can whip up some burgers real quick,” I said, suddenly incredibly nervous about my cooking too.  _ God what if I fucked up and she thinks I’m a shit chef?! _

Her eyes lit up as she smiled wide, “I love pad thai! How’d you know?” she said, practically jumping with excitement.

“Ahm quite the mind reader. Right when Ah asked about making dinner Ah heard ye think ‘oh I sure hope he makes pad thai’,” I joked, putting on my best American accent. 

She rolled her eyes but had a smile playing at the corner of her lips, ”I sound nothing like that. I’m from New Jersey not California.” 

“Well would the lovely lass from New Jersey like tae try some homemade pad thai?”

“Sounds good handsome lad from Glasgow,” she replied as I led her into my kitchen. She sat down in a bar stool as I brought her a plate. 

We spent the next hour talking while we ate dinner chatting and learning about each other. I told her about my job at the hospital, my idea for jerk haggis, mixing my parents’ heritage, my Ma being Scottish and my Da being Jamaican. While most people usually gagged when they heard the idea, she was surprisingly intrigued and excited about it. I told her about my dreams of opening a bakery. I even told her about my rebellious teen years and my punk band Paisley Cuddle. She chimed in that she loved punk rock and even dyed her hair bright red when she was 16, much to her parents’ dismay.  _ That sounds sexy as fuck. Would she consider dyeing it again?  _

The whole time I talked she listened intently, she even laughed at my shit jokes. It made me feel heard and appreciated. I hadn’t felt that way in such a long time.

I learned she had a dog named Daisy St. Patience (usually just called Daisy) and two cats named Klaus and Ben. She loved comic books and thought John Mulaney was the best comedian. She was an editor for the local paper too. The more she spoke the more I started to fall for her.  _ God I’m the worst. I know it’s been three years since Priya died but why have I suddenly felt this way about two women in less than 24 hours? Why does it feel like I’m cheating?  _

I was starting to feel pretty disgusted with myself, like god was judging me for being a massive prick, but the second I looked back into her kind eyes everything felt okay again. I felt like I finally found someone who cared about me, someone I could maybe open up to one day.

After dinner she insisted on helping me wash up. I was about to protest when she turned, smiling up at me with an amused glint in her eye, “And don’t you dare tell me not to. You worked so hard to make the most amazing pad thai that has ever blessed my taste buds and I refuse to make you clean the dishes as well.” 

I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay! No protests from me,” I mimed zipping my lips. She laughed lightly before turning back to the dishes.  _ God she’s so thoughtful. I could’ve used someone like her when I was grieving. I may not have felt so alone.  _

After the dishes were done I put on a kettle and made each of us a cuppa. Once we each had a mug we headed to the living room and sat down on my loveseat. It was once a royal blue but had faded over the years, turning it such a dark blue that it bordered on black. She sat down on one end, tucking her knees up under her and turning them until she was sitting side-saddle. I took the other end, crossing my ankle over my knee. My leg planted on the floor started to bounce as my anxiety rose.  _ None of my stuff is fancy enough for her. Maybe bringing her here was a bad idea. _

She sat silently for a moment, studying my face as she knit her brows in concern. She leaned over and lightly set her hand on my knee, calming my shaking, “Are you okay hun? You seem upset about something. Am I making you uncomfortable?”   
  


_ How can someone be so fiery yet so kind?  _ “No it’s alright lass. Ah just get self-conscious sometimes. Ah ken my flat isn’t anythin’ special.” I hung my head a bit, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. 

She smiled up at me sweetly, “I like your place. It’s really soft and cozy. And I do believe I see some old family photos, aka pictures of baby Bobby,” she replied, a small smirk topping off the last sentence.

She suddenly hopped up, skipping across the room to a picture above my end table. It was a photo of me with my parents and sister at a beach on the coast of Scotland. We went all the time when I was a kid; some of my favorite memories were made there. This particular picture was taken when I was probably 5 or 6. My sister and I stood in front of our parents in our swimming costumes, both with goofy, gap-toothed grins plastered on our faces. Behind us you could see the clear blue sky and the sandy beach lined with seafoam. 

Indi stood looking at it for a minute. Her bright smile reaching up to her sparkling emerald green eyes.  _ God she’s beautiful. Would she be mad when she found out I hid something pretty major from her? Priya didn’t talk to me for a week but she came round. Maybe she shouldn’t have. She’d still be alive if she didn’t.  _

Indi broke my train of thought before it could truly run off the rails, “Baby Bobby is fucking precious. Is that your sister?” she asked, pointing at Amy.

“Uh yeah. Her name’s Amelia. She’ll tell ye she’s the best McKenzie but she’s lying,” I said with a wink. 

She rolled her eyes but still laughed, “Is that so? I’d argue that you’re a bit biased,” she replied, throwing a wink back. 

I chuckled, grateful for the distraction from my internal downward spiral. “Maybe Ah need an impartial third party. Ye know anyone that’d fit the bill?”

She let out a sharp exhale through her nose, “I think so. My friend Lottie would be great. She hates everyone equally.”

I put on my best pouty face, “Aw Ah was hoping ye’d offer to help.”

“Who said I’d be impartial?” she countered with a raised brow. 

“Is that so?” I smirked. 

“Yeah. I’d vote for your sister,” she deadpanned, fighting down a smile. 

I scoffed, “Even after makin’ ye my famous pad thai? Ahm not mad Ahm just disappointed.”

She finally broke, letting out a melodious laugh that melted my insides. “On that note I should probably head home. Klaus has probably knocked all my belongings on the floor by now.”

I had intended to have her stay the night when I invited her, but suddenly that felt wrong. I wanted this to be more than a one night stand. 

Fighting my intense urge to throw her down onto my mattress, I walked her to the front door. “Ah had a great time tonight. Ah hope Ah can see ye again soon.”

She looked up at me, green eyes half-lidded and full of desire. Without saying a word she grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me down and crashing her lips against mine. I felt myself lose control, my brain clouded with lust. I pressed one hand into her lower back and the other tangled in her hair, pulling her close. She slowly moved her hands from my chest up behind my head, snaking around my neck. I swiped my tongue across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She quickly complied, wrapping my tongue in hers as she pressed herself tighter against me.

As the kiss grew more intense I slid both hands down her back onto her perfectly round ass and hoisted her up as her legs wrapped around my waist. She reached down and started tugging at the back of my shirt, trying to pull it over my head. Thankfully that suddenly snapped me back to my senses. Against everything in my body screaming for her touch I set her down, separating my lips from hers. 

She looked up at me, her face suddenly riddled with guilt, “Oh god I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard I just thought-“

I cut her off, “Ye dinnae do anything wrong lass. Ah just want tae slow down a bit. Ah like ye a lot and Ah don’t wan’ tae move too fast. Ahm sorry if Ah hurt yer feelings. Ah promise Ah dinnae mean tae.”

She looked down at her hands for a bit, her long hair sweeping down and covering her flushed cheeks. After a few moments she looked back up at me, her voice low and meek, “I like you too. Enough that it honestly scares me a bit. I haven’t really done the whole dating thing in a while and the idea makes me kinda nervous.”  _ Oh shit I hope that doesn’t mean she wants to leave. Please don’t leave. I haven’t felt this way in so long. I don’t want you to slip through my fingers. I don’t want to be alone again. _

I wrapped my arms around her, leaning down to kiss the top of her head, “If ye aren’t comfortable dating that’s alright. Ah just can’t bring myself tae have a one night stand with ye. Ahm willing to give ye all the time and space ye need to make a decision.”

She looked back up at me, releasing a relieved sigh, “I’d like to think about it. I’ll call you soon.”

I nodded as I led her outside, my hand on the small of her back. 

She headed towards a blue station wagon in the far corner of the car park. As we reached the driver’s side door she turned, standing on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, “Thank you. I had a great night too.”

I smiled as she got in her car, closing the door behind her. As she drove away I felt a million different emotions wash over me: guilt, anxiety, desire, yearning, adoration, and most of all hope. Hope that she’d call me. That she’d want to try a relationship with me. That maybe she’d be the one to heal a part of me that I thought was permanently broken. 


	5. Mission: To Learn to Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her dinner date Indi is left panicking and confused. How does she reconcile her feelings for Bobby with her complete inability to trust?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a minute to get up I had some writer’s block and needed to focus on other fics to get back into my groove with this one. Thanks for reading!

**Indi POV**

_ Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What the fuck do I do now. “Oh dinner won’t hurt I’ll just get laid and move on har har har.” I’m such a fucking moron.  _

I could barely focus on driving after pulling out of his parking lot. I was so frantic, my mind was going faster than a speeding bullet. I had never in my life felt this way about a person, much less within a day of meeting them.  _ I don’t date. I don’t date. I don’t date.  _ I thought maybe if I repeated it enough I would be fine. My desire to spend every second of my free time with him would go away. That didn’t prove to be very effective. 

My hands were trembling as I tried to hold the steering wheel. I felt my vision getting spotty as my anxiety increased. Eventually I decided to pull over and text Lottie. She would know what to do.

**Hey Lozzie you home? Desperately need a girl chat. I’m driving so you have at least a few minutes before I show up 😉**

After a minute or so my phone vibrated. 

**Of course babes. I’ll prep some tea to do a reading 🍵**

_ Oh thank fuck. She’ll sort me out.  _

**Okay hun omw.**

After a ten minute drive I pulled into Lottie’s. She had a small house just out of town on a small back road. Lottie’s house was pretty much a physical manifestation of her soul. The outside of the house was painted black with purple shutters on the windows and a matching purple door. Below the peephole Lottie had painted a crescent moon surrounded by stars. She said it helped properly align those who entered her home. 

The front door opened up to a large foyer, vaulted silver ceilings over top the hardwood floors. I walked down through the short hallway that led to her sitting room. I expected to find her perched on her dark blue couch but I only found her cat, Luna. I gave Luna some head scratches before continuing my search for Lottie. 

After climbing the spiral staircase I found Lottie in her bedroom, hunched over her altar sprinkling various flowers and leaves over some crystals. I knocked lightly on the open door, “Hey Loz you got the tea ready?”

She turned her head slightly and side-eyed me for a moment before turning back to her table, “Hey Di I’ll be there in just a minute. I’m just finishing up a blessing ritual. I’ll meet you in the sitting room.”

I gave her a small nod and headed back down the stairs, sitting next to Luna on the couch, petting her small gray body in an effort to calm my nerves. After a few minutes Lottie came back out, teacup in hand. She sat in the armchair in front of me and passed it to me wordlessly while I focused on my intentions.  _ Please help me figure out what to do. I need guidance now more than ever. What do I do to help Kirstie? What do I do to help myself? _

After setting my intentions I downed the tea. The hot bitter liquid burnt on the way down, but I knew Lottie would protest if I asked for sugar or milk. After I finished drinking I handed the teacup back to Lottie. 

She focused down on the mug, her purple tipped hair hanging down as she swirled it around. After a little bit she looked back up at me. “Are you sure you want to hear this?” she asked, seeming a bit apprehensive. 

I felt my whole body tense but I nodded. I knew her response meant it wasn’t any entirely positive reading but I needed to know. 

She stared in my eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. “So the reading isn’t entirely clear but I’ll give you what I know. The rim, your immediate present, has a dragon with birds leading over to a saw. The dragon represents sudden changes, the birds leading you to a message of good news, possibly involving a romance.” She cocked an eyebrow up as she studied me. She knew I never did romance. She chose not to comment as she continued. “The part that concerns me is the saw. That means trouble from strangers, but it’s hard to tell how that part fits in with the rest of the reading.”

I rested my hands on my knees, gripping them in an attempt to release some tension. I gripped so hard my knuckles turned white but I still didn’t feel any better. Lottie gave me a concerned look before I gave her a stiff nod to signal her to continue.

Her eyes returned back to the teacup, “The middle of the cup is also quite concerning. There’s an hourglass, which typically symbolizes upcoming danger along with an umbrella, which usually represents some sort of difficulty. Next comes a wavy line, indicating a difficult or troubling journey. It ends in a hammer, which usually means overcoming a challenge, but the hammer is hard to make out. It seems like there is some uncertainty to whether or not that will come to be.” Her brows furrowed in concern. I appreciated her being forthcoming but that only made my stomach churn more than it already was. 

“Now we’ve reached the bottom. In the middle I see an axe, meaning overcoming an underlying issue or problem. There are also some squares scattered around the bottom, which often symbolize peace.” She then looked up at me, her expression now unreadable. We sat in silence for a moment as she waited for me to speak. 

After gathering my thoughts I finally replied, “Well shit. I don’t know if I should be relieved or worried. I’m kinda feeling a whole lot of things right now,” I let out a small laugh. 

She continued staring at me, her green eyes piercing into me as if she could see everything I was thinking. “So who is he?”

_ I should have seen that coming. Maybe coming over was a bad idea.  _ “His name is Bobby. I met him at Scott’s place when I went over to check on him. Apparently they grew up together but both moved here around the same time. I don’t know how I haven’t met him before but the second I saw him I grew weak at the knees. He invited me over for dinner so I figured it’d just be a one night stand. We sat talking for hours and I kinda started to fall for him. I tried to just fuck him and get it out of my system but he ended up shutting it down. He said he wanted more with me and I fucking hated hearing him say that because I kinda want that too. But I don’t date, you know I don’t date so what the fuck am I gonna do?? Do I blow him off and act like I don’t have feelings for him or do I pursue things and inevitably end up breaking it off so he doesn’t get too close.”

Once I finished projectile vomiting my feelings I fell back against the couch, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples as if it would stop my bullet train of thoughts. 

Lottie sat staring at me for what felt like forever, drumming her red fingernails against her chin. I could tell she was figuring out how to word what she wanted to say. Finally she leaned over and rested a hand on my knee. “I think you know what I’m gonna say, love. I know how hard it is for you to trust. I know you feel like you have to distance yourself from people but maybe that isn’t always the right answer. Maybe it’s time to try to let someone in.”

My eyes shot back open as my breathing picked up pace, “But what if I have to tell him and he freaks out?? Or runs away and never speaks to me again?? Or gets so angry that I lied to him that he hates me?? I don’t think I can handle any of that.” I sighed, leaning over and throwing my head in my hands. “What if he tells someone?” I asked in a low voice. 

Lottie moved to sit next to me on the couch, rubbing soothing circles on my back. We sat silently for a long time before she finally spoke, voice soft and soothing, “Well there’s only one way to find out isn’t there?”

Even though deep down I knew she was right I still couldn’t clear my head enough to make a decision. I took a shaky breath, staring up at the ceiling to keep the tears at the edge of the dam behind my eyes from breaking through. Finally I turned to Lottie, “Can I leave my car here tonight? I need to go running, try to clear my head.”

She nodded, standing up and pulling me into a tight hug. Her warm arms and familiar sandalwood scent soothed me as she held me. After a few minutes I pulled away, giving her a grateful smile before heading out the door. 

She followed me out onto her front step. “Remember Indi, you don’t have to do everything alone. I know there’s no way I could fathom what this is like for you but I do know you can’t keep everyone away forever. That’s no way to live.” Her words were stern but I could see the concern etched on her face. 

I pulled her into another hug, running my fingers over the soft fabric of her black sweater. “I know. I just wish there was a way to know who I can trust before I get close to them.”

She chuckled lightly as she stroked my hair, “I think that’s kinda part of the definition of trust babe. You don’t know.”

I sighed as I released her, “You’re right. I just wish it were easier.” She nodded sadly as she rubbed my arms lightly. “Go on your run Di. Cool down, clear your head. I’m always a phone call away.”

I nodded and smiled warmly at the tall goth, “Love you to death Lozzie.”

“Love you too Indi.”

  
  


**********

After running around the city what felt like a million times I finally decided to go home and go to bed. I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, petting Daisy’s white fluffy head as I walked in. I headed straight to my bedroom, not bothering to shower. I took off my dress and threw on an oversized t-shirt, pulling my hair up into a messy bun. With my last shred of energy I dropped down on my bed settling under the soft blue sheets. Klaus and Ben settled down beside me, nuzzling up against my stomach. I reached down and petted them both before turning on my back to try and sleep. 

Despite how tired I was I stared up at my ceiling for hours, unable to calm my mind down enough to sleep. I still couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do. Deep down I knew Lottie was right. I couldn’t keep everyone away forever. But she was also right when she said she couldn’t understand what this was like. It wasn’t that simple. 

Eventually I realized sleep wasn’t going to happen so I decided to get up and do something. After wandering around my apartment a bit I ended up plopping down on my couch and turning on “The Comeback Kid.”

My living room was my favorite room in my apartment. It was spacious with light stained hardwood floors. The far wall was one massive bay window with a large white bench in front of it. Klaus and Ben loved laying on that bench to look out across the city so it was almost always covered in a thin blanket of black fur. 

I had a long brown couch along the back wall with a simple black wood end table on each end across from my TV. It was nothing super fancy but it was comfortable and familiar.

As I turned on the TV and pulled up the stand up routine Daisy jumped up on the couch next to me, laying her head on my lap and looking up at me with sweet puppy dog eyes. I chuckled at her, grateful she didn’t try to lay all 65 pounds of her fluffy body in my lap. She had always been so in tune with my emotions and so good to talk to. She may not be able to talk back but she was a great listener. 

“What do I do baby girl?” I asked as I scratched the top of her head. She grumbled slightly as she nuzzled her head further into me. “I don’t know either.” I sighed as I turned my attention back to the TV screen. 

Even with the god of comedy John Mulaney on I couldn’t stop my wandering thoughts. Despite Lottie’s advice I couldn’t make up my mind. 

I like Bobby a lot. He made me laugh and seemed so genuinely kind and caring. I couldn’t help the way my heart was drawn to him. But I still didn’t know if I could trust him. And even if I could, how would he react when he found out? Would he freak out? Would he be mad that I lied to him? I couldn’t suddenly silence those worries just because I liked him. 

Lottie had always been great at giving advice and she knew me better than anyone but there was no way she could understand what this was like. No one could. 

I sighed deeply and sunk down further into the couch. I felt my eyelids start to droop until something dawned on me and made me jerk up. Daisy lifted her head and gave me an annoyed look before resting down into my lap again.  _ There is someone who does know what this is like.  _ I grabbed my phone and dialed 999.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Mission: Trust Isn’t Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby and Indi lose sleep over each other and make a startling discover about Kirstie’s disappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a million and half years to update this fic I was having raging writer’s block

**Bobby POV**

I spent most of the night sitting at my desk trying to read police reports I had managed to pull out of their system. I lazily swirled my finger over my glass of water, creating a whirlpool inside. No matter what I did though I couldn’t get Indi out of my mind. I knew she probably wouldn’t call for at least a few days, if she did at all, but I still couldn’t help but hope she would call again tonight. 

I eventually gave up trying to pretend I was at all focused on what I was doing. I instead opted to make shapes in the air out of fire. I had done it since I was a kid and I still got a kick out of it. Not too long after I started doing that I heard my police scanner go off. 

“Get this Joe: someone just called in and said they were looking for Velma and wanted us to tell her Shaggy and Scooby were searching the apartment for clues.”

The other guy, I’m assuming Joe, let out a short laugh, “What a load of horseshit. Teenagers are getting dumber and dumber.”

_ Guess that means Speedy wants to search Kirstie’s apartment again. At least it’ll be a distraction.  _

I headed to the back of my closet and moved aside my dress shirts. I had rigged a lock that would only open if the water in the bottom of a 6 foot column rose to the top. If someone else somehow figured out how to do that then they deserved to find my costume. After popping the lock and getting dressed I made my way to Kirstie’s. 

**********

I decided this time I’d just head straight through Kirstie’s front door. Maybe this time Speedy wouldn’t pin me to a wall. Hopefully. 

As I walked in I saw her perched on Kirstie’s marble countertop fiddling with her tights. Her eyes flitted up when she saw me, but went back down to messing with the holes in the fishnets. She wasn’t as cheeky as she was on the old roof. Her silence filled the air with an odd sort of tension. 

“Nice prank call. Joe apparently thought it was a stupid teenager.” I joked, trying to break the silence as comfortably as possible. Something was clearly upsetting her and I figured she wasn’t going to divulge what. 

She hopped off the counter and walked over to me, handing me a pair of gloves, “Took you long enough.”

_ Oh yeah fingerprints. At least one of us is thinking.  _ I chuckled a bit before donning them. “Sorry not all of us ‘ave legs of lightning.”

She glared at me for a second before replying, “Let’s start looking around. We need to keep moving if we’re gonna find Kirstie.”

_ She seems off. The other night she was a lot more playful. Now she just seems pissed.  _ “Ye alright? Yer a bit testy.”

She sighed, “Yeah just a long day. Sorry.”

“No worries. Ah’ll start in the living room if ye want to check the bedroom.”

She nodded before whizzing back. I turned to Kirstie’s living room. Her bright red couch had a few clothes strewn on it but other than that there was nothing unusual. I kept searching throughout the room but other than a few knick knacks and books moved a bit, nothing seemed out of place. When I reached her end table I noticed a little sheet of paper dropped on the floor between the corner and the wall. Picking it up I saw it was her address written on a paper torn off a notepad. 

“Ah found something!” I shouted back to the bedroom. By the time I turned around Speedy had sped by and snatched the paper out of my hand and was now standing next to me. 

“Hey! Ahm the one who found that! Give it back!”

I reached over to snatch it out of her hand but as my arm moved to grab it she grabbed my wrist and dropped me into an arm bar. 

“What the feck! Ahm just trying to help!” After I finished my sentence she jerked my arm down harder. “Ow shit! Ah get it! Please let me go!”

She let go of my wrist and stood back up. “Sheesh woman was that necessary??”

“Yes,” she deadpanned. After looking over it for a second she handed it back to me. “The Old Waverly.”

“Huh?” I looked over at her with what I imagine was a very confused expression. 

“The note. It’s off a pad from the Old Waverly. The hotel across town. Looks like whoever kidnapped Kirstie is, or at least was, staying at the Old Waverly. And I think they were probably hired. If it were personal they’d already know where she lived so no need to write her address down.” she explained. 

_ Damn she figured that out fast.  _ “Okay now Ah see why ye took it Ah probably wouldn’t have worked that out. So which one of us should go and check it out?”

“I can get a friend to go down there for me. I can also see if I can get the handwriting analyzed. Try to narrow down our pool of potential suspects. Thanks for your help by the way.” She gave me a small smile. 

“Yer welcome. Do ye need anything else or should Ah head home before ye judo throw me?”

She chuckled a bit before her expression changed, furrowing her brow and pursing her lips, “Actually can I ask you something?”

_ Depends on what.  _ “Go ahead.”

“Have you ever dated someone?” she asked with her brows furrowed with worry. 

“Yeah Ah have.” My heart rate picked up a bit.  _ Where is this going? _

“Are you still with that person?” At this point she was chewing the inside of her lip. 

“Why? Ye asking me on a date?” She glared at me. “No we’re not together anymore.”  _ Technically not a lie.  _

“Did they know about your powers? If so, did they ever tell anyone?” She seemed to be getting more nervous by the second. 

_ Oh okay. That’s what’s going on. She got dumped. “ _ Yes she did and no not that Ah know of.”  _ Also technically not a lie.  _

She breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“Yer welcome. Ahm sorry about the breakup.” She tensed a bit when I said that. 

“It’s okay. I’ll reach out when I know more.” Before I could respond she had sped off.  _ Guess I better head home too. Sleepless night here I come.  _

**********

When I walked back into my flat I headed to my bedroom to take off my suit and shower off. After I toweled off I decided to put on some music to try and drown out my thoughts for a bit. 

I walked across the room and grabbed my phone off my bedside table. I saw I had gotten a text about thirty minutes ago. I figured it was Scott so I wasn’t too worried but after I unlocked my phone my heart somehow simultaneously dropped into my stomach and soared out of my body. 

**Indi:**

**If you’re up do you mind giving me a call?**

_ Shit shit shit I didn’t expect her to reach out so soon. Please Jesus, Mary, Joseph don’t let her reject me.  _

After staring at my phone or a minute or two I clicked the call button next to her contact, reminding myself to breathe. She picked up on the second ring. 

“Hey Bobby. I hope I didn’t wake you up. I know it’s really late.”

“No yer fine lass Ah had just left my phone on the couch while Ah was baking and didn’t hear it go off.”  _ Guess I should probably go ahead and get used to lying to her.  _

Her voice perked up, “Oh you bake? Whatcha making?”

_ Feck what am I making. “ _ Chocolate chip cookies. Can’t beat a classic.”  _ I hope she likes chocolate.  _

Her melodious laugh echoed through the speaker, “Very true. They’re my second favorite, behind peanut butter cookies.”

“Well now Ah know my next project.” Despite the intense nervousness I felt my shoulders start to relax just a touch.  _ Talking to her is so easy.  _

“Have you ever been to the botanical gardens?” she blurted out. 

“No Ah haven’t. Have ye?” I was trying not to get my hopes up that she wanted to go with me. 

“No I haven’t so I was wondering if you’re free some time next week and wanted to go with me? I hear they’re really lovely this time of year.” Her tone shifted from her usual confidence to a shy sort of voice. 

_ YES!!  _ I could’ve jumped on the counters and started dancing. “That sounds great lass. How about Tuesday?”

“That sounds great. I’ll see you then McKenzie.”

I realized I didn’t know her last name. “See ye then whatever yer last name is.”

She laughed again, “It’s Harrison.”

“Ye mind if Ah ask what yer doing up so late Ms. Harrison?”

She paused for a second, “I could ask you the same question.”

It seemed like she was deflecting but I wasn’t sure why, “Ah asked first.”

She sighed, “I was having trouble sleeping so I went for a run.”

“Yer awfully brave to be running in the middle of the night. Especially a little thing like yerself.”

She chuckled lightly, “I appreciate the concern but trust me I can handle myself.”

_ I wonder what she means by that.  _ “Well Ah suppose Ah’ll have tae take yer word fir it.”

“That you will. Now time for you to tell me what you’re doing up so late.”

I grinned widely, “Nothing gets past ye, huh? Ah was havin’ trouble sleeping as well so Ah decided to bake.”

I could almost hear her cheeky smile, “You shouldn’t have told me you bake. Now I expect baked goods on the regular.”

_ I’ll bake for you till I drop dead of exhaustion.  _ “Well Ah aim tae please lassie.”

“Good to hear. Well I think we could both use some sleep so I’ll text you time and address and see you on Tuesday?”

“Sounds good lass. See ye on Tuesday. Goodbye Indi.”

“Goodbye Bobby.”

After I hung up I felt my heart fly out of my body and up to heaven. I didn’t know what caused her change of heart but I honestly didn’t care. She wanted to see me. Maybe even be with me. Maybe even start to heal the gaping hole that Priya took to her grave. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos appreciated!


	7. Mission: Tender Kisses and Deep Rooted Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While on her date with Bobby, Indi makes a new friend and learns she may not be the only one with secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long to update! Classes and work have been kicking my ass and for some reason this fic gives me the worst writer's block! But thanks so much for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!

**Indi POV**

I shuffled through my clothes for the thousandth time, still coming up empty. I felt my heart rate and breathing pick up the closer it got to 2 PM.  _ Maybe this was a bad idea. Just because Aang’s ex didn’t tell anyone doesn’t mean Bobby wouldn’t. And even if he wouldn’t tell doesn’t mean he wouldn’t lose his shit when he found out.  _

With a heavy sigh I picked up my phone and dialed Lottie on FaceTime. After a few rings her pale face popped up on my screen. “What’s up Di?” Realization dawned on her face, “Oh shit it’s Tuesday isn’t it!”

I gulped hard and nodded, “Yup. It is. And I’m absolutely shitting myself.”

“Oh babes it’s gonna be just fine! Have you sorted out your outfit yet?”

I shook my head.

Lottie nodded resolutely, “Okay I’ll be there in 10.”

**********

As promised, 10 minutes later Lottie knocked on my apartment door. She pushed past me as I opened it, heading straight to my closet. “Hello to you too.” I chuckled.

“No time for greetings! It’s 1:30 and you’re not dressed yet!” She shouted back at me.

I rolled my eyes as I followed her into my bedroom. When I walked in she already had an outfit laid out on my bed. 

“Are you sure?” I asked as I held up the pair of jean overalls and blue cropped tank.

“Yes I’m sure! The shorts will make your legs look a little longer and the crop top accentuates your  _ assets. _ ” She replied as she motioned at my boobs. 

“Lottie!” I exclaimed.

“What? If you got ‘em, flaunt ‘em.” She shrugged casually.

I rolled my eyes but stepped into the back of the closet to change into the outfit Lottie picked. Looking myself over in my full length mirror I couldn’t help but agree with her. The crop top fit over my breasts nicely and the short overalls did add a slight illusion of length to my short legs.

“Okay fine, you’re a fashion genius is that what you want me to say?” I joked.

Lottie snorted lightly, “Eh I do what I can. Now: hair, makeup, shoes.”

“Okay, but first: did you find anything out about that note I gave you?” I inquired as I sat at my vanity, handing my makeup bag over to Lottie.

“So you know that girl Marisol I dated for a bit in uni?” Lottie responded as she set to work on my makeup.

“Mhm,” I answered, knowing better than to move my head to nod while Lottie did my makeup.

“Well she works for that big time law firm now, so I called in a favor with her to get that handwriting analyzed by one of the experts there. She said she’d text me when she got something.”

“Gotcha. Thanks so much Lozza.” I smiled at her gratefully.

“Anything to help find Kirstie. Now close your eyes.” She ordered.

We sat in comfortable silence as she finished up my makeup and turned to my hair. She brushed out my messy curls, braiding them into a fancy looking updo that twisted around the back of my head. 

Once she finished up my hair and makeup she ran to my closet and grabbed a pair of black converse and a lightweight leather jacket. As I laced up my shoes she broke the silence, “Just needs one final touch.” She reached around her neck and took off her signature black rose pendant.

She moved behind me to clip the necklace into place, “For good luck. And to know I’m with you the whole time.”

I spun around and wrapped my arms around her slim shoulders, “I love you so much Lottie. You’re the best friend a mutant freak could ask for.”

She chuckled lightly, “I love you too Indi. And you’re not a freak. You’re just unique.”

I sighed as I pulled away, “Let’s hope Bobby agrees if he ever finds out.”

Lottie rubbed my arms lightly, “Everything will be fine Indi. I promise. Now go! You don’t want to be late.”

I ran my shaky hands over the pockets of my overalls. “Here goes nothing.”

Lottie gave me an encouraging smile as we walked out the door.

**********

I pulled into the car park at Bobby’s place and texted him to let him know I was there.  _ Deep breaths Indi. It’s just a date. Just talk and laugh and have a good time. It’ll all be okay. Just don’t tell him you’ve never been on an actual date that wasn’t just a precursor to casual sex and leading to me never calling them again.  _

Just as I was starting to spiral into complete panic the passenger door opened, making me jump. I turned to see Bobby sliding into the car, bright white t-shirt contrasting his tan skin. “Sorry lass Ah didn’t mean tae startle ye.”

I let out a loud breath, “No worries! It’s good to see you again.”

“Ye too. Ye look great Indi.” He looked me up and down as I pulled out into the main road.

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks, “Thank you. So do you.” I admired his outfit out of the corner of my eye. He somehow managed to make a plain t-shirt and black skinny jeans look incredibly sexy.

“Well Ah aim tae please.” he threw me a cheeky smirk. He paused for a second, his confidence seeming to fade away for a moment, “Ah may regret asking ye this, but what made ye call me back?”

“Well I talked to two of my friends and they kind of convinced me to take a leap of faith.” I chuckled nervously.  _ I guess Aang is a friend, for all intents and purposes.  _

“Well Ahm glad they did. Truthfully Ah haven’t dated anyone in a while either.” he mumbled, wringing his hands together.

“Well then I guess we can be nervous wrecks together.” I laughed lightly, resting a hand on his thigh.

He chuckled in response, laying his hand over mine. “Sounds great.”  _ Dear god he has great hands.  _

We made idle small talk the rest of the way to the gardens. After parking the car Bobby quickly turned to me. “Wait right there!”

He hurriedly jumped out of the car and ran around to my side to open my door. “After ye gorgeous.” He declared as he waved his arm dramatically.

I couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled out of my chest. “Why thank you kind sir.” I replied in a haughty voice as I stepped out of my car, earning a sweet smile from Bobby. After locking the doors I turned to follow him into the gardens.

As we were walking in I felt him lace his fingers through mine. My eyes widened slightly as I stiffened.  _ How do normal people respond to affection? _

Bobby, sensing my reaction, dropped my hand. “Oh Ahm sorry.” He mumbled as his shoulders slumped slightly.

_ Oh shit I’m already fucking this up.  _ I reached over and rejoined our hands. “Don’t be. I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m just not really used to all this.” I confessed.

His amber eyes regained their twinkle. “Don’t ye be sorry either. Ah understand. Like Ah said it’s been awhile fir me too.”

“Right. Yeah. Well honestly I haven’t ever really been on a proper date.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Something about his sweet freckled face made me want to tell him everything.  _ Fuck I hope I don’t spill too much sheesh. Don’t need to be announcing my freaky superpowers on a second date. I don’t imagine he’d respond too well to that.  _

His eyes widened in surprise as he admired some lilies to our right, “Never? Like never ever?” I shook my head, “How old are ye again?”

“27.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way but how have ye been single that long? Yer beautiful and fun and sweet and just generally pretty incredible.”

My cheeks burned at his brazen compliments, “Gosh I don’t know how to respond to that, you’re very sweet. But to answer your question I guess dating just hasn’t really been on my mind a lot.”  _ Not really a lie but not really true either. Gotta get used to that I guess. I feel like white lies are going to become my best friend.  _

“Oh. Well Ahm honored to be the one to change that fir ye.” He grinned cheekily at me.

Before I could formulate a response I heard a loud squeal from across the pathway, “Bobby OMG!!!” A flurry of pink and blonde launched herself at Bobby, wrapping her petite arms around him.

“Oh Chelsea! Long time no see.” He chuckled nervously, patting her back with his free hand.

I arched an eyebrow up.  _ Is this an ex? _

“OMG I haven’t seen you in forever!! You told me you were going to let me decorate your flat after I finished Scott’s but you never called me back! Then we stopped seeing you at our get togethers! I even invited you to mine and Elijah’s housewarming party but you didn’t come.” She rattled off quickly, barely taking a breath. 

As she pulled away from Bobby I sized her up. She was about my height, her short pink cocktail dress accentuated her small waist and matched her pink ballet flats. Her blonde bob hung in waves down to her shoulders, swishing slightly as she chattered energetically. Her bubblegum pink lips were now pouting slightly at Bobby.  _ She doesn’t seem like his type. And she mentioned someone named Elijah, possibly her partner. _

As I was assessing her she turned her gaze to me, her bright blue eyes widening slightly when she saw our joined hands. “OMG are you on a date?? That’s so amazing I’m so happy for you!! I know you were so sad after-” 

“It’s really good to see you Chelsea. Sorry I never called about my flat, I've been pretty busy and all that kind of got pushed to the side. And sorry I didn’t come to visit you and Elijah. Just had a lot going on.” Bobby cut her off, plastering on a strained smile. I furrowed my brow slightly.  _ What was she about to say? And why doesn’t he want me to hear it.  _

“Oh okay!” She then turned to me, “Hi I’m Chelsea! What’s your name? I love your hair!” 

I chuckled lightly, amused by this tiny blonde’s bubbly nature, “Thanks! I’m Indi. Did you say you decorated Scott’s flat? I’ve always wondered where he got such good style.” 

“Are you American?? That’s so cool! And yeah I did! He would’ve been totally lost without me lol!” She giggled loudly.

“Uh yeah I’m from New Jersey.” I replied.

“That’s close to New York right? I’ve always wanted to go there but I’ve just never had the time.” She suddenly gasped, clapping her hands together rapidly. “Maybe now that you’ve dragged Bobby out of his cave the two of you can come to my get togethers! I’m having a big dinner next week for Scott’s birthday but don’t tell him it’s a surprise!”

_ Oh shit right his 30th is a week from tomorrow. There’s no way he’s gonna celebrate without Kirstie though. _

It seemed like the same thing occurred to Bobby as he shifted uncomfortably next to me. “About that Chels...ye may want to postpone that for right now.”

Chelsea furrowed her brows slightly, “Why would I do that?”

“He’s just a bit down in the dumps. A party might not be what’s best for him right now. But hey Ah’ll text ye later and we can see about decorating my flat, yeah?”

She perked up again, “Oh okay! I can’t wait!” And with that she turned around, running her pink fingernails along a row of black plant pots as she skipped away.

“I think she should cheer up a bit. She’s awfully sad.” I commented sarcastically.

Bobby laughed loudly, clutching his stomach. “Yeah she’s definitely something else.”

“So she’s the one who decorated Scott’s flat?”

“Aye. Did Scott ever tell ye ‘bout his ex Blake?”

“No but Kirstie mentioned her a few times. Wasn’t exactly a fan.” I chuckled.

“None of us were.” He shuddered slightly at the memory, “Well she knew Chelsea from some art class they took together when they lived in Kensington so she go’ Chelsea tae redo Scott’s flat.”

“Ah. And she was gonna do yours as well?” I prodded lightly.

“Aye. But like Ah said, it didn’t pan out.” I felt him stiffen slightly.

_ Maybe I’m not the only one with secrets. Guess I won’t press for his if he won’t press for mine. _

“Gotcha. Well maybe you’ll get another opportunity.” I felt him relax, clearly relieved I wasn’t pressing the issue. 

“Maybe so.”

“So elephant in the room: why didn’t you say anything about Kirstie?”

Bobby sighed heavily, “Love Chelsea to death but bless the poor lass she can’t keep her mouth shut fir shit. She wouldnae mean tae but she would tell everyone and their ma and Ah think Scott wants to keep it quiet fir now.”

I nodded, “That makes sense. That was very thoughtful of you.” I squeezed his hand lightly.

His cheeks tinted slightly pink, giving him the cutest bit of color. “Ah try. Enough ‘bout that though. Ah ken ye said yer from New Jersey and came ‘ere fir uni, but why did ye move so far?”

“A lot of things. I guess mostly my parents. Weren’t exactly the most supportive.” I chuckled wryly.

“Oh. Well Ahm sorry that’s naff. They shouldnae have had kids if they weren’t going tae support them.” He furrowed his brow slightly.

I smiled sweetly at him, “I agree. You know what makes it even better? I’m adopted.”

His brows pressed together further, forming a strong crease between them, “What?? That dinnae make any sense.”

I chuckled, using my free hand to rub out the crease between his brows, “Tell me about it. It’s okay though. Now that I’ve been on my own for a while I’m pretty happy with my life.” I smiled up at him.

He returned my smile, grasping my hand lightly and pulling it to his lips to press a soft kiss to my fingertips. My breath hitched slightly, still a bit taken aback by his affection. I hadn’t experienced physically intimacy outside of meaningless sex before.

“Ye alright lass?” Bobby asked in a concerned tone.

“Yeah. This is just all really new for me.”

“A good new?” He asked tentatively.

“A great new.” I responded with a shy smile.

His plush lips broke out in a large grin, “Good.”

**********

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the gardens, talking while we admired the scenery. The more time I spent with Bobby the more I started to really like him. Obviously he was incredibly attractive, but there was something about him I couldn’t place. Something comfortable and familiar. Like I had known him much longer than a week.

As the sun started to get lower and lower we made our way back to the car. Bobby ran ahead of me to open my car door again. “What a gentleman.” I said through a giggle.

“Anything fir ye lass.” He replied with a cheeky grin.

I felt my face flush for the thousandth time that day.  _ God this boy makes me blush so much.  _

As I pulled out of the car park Bobby leaned over to fiddle with the radio. As he turned it on Blink-182 blared through the speakers. I felt myself instantly start to bop my head along with the beat.

Bobby looked over at me in disbelief, “Ye like Blink-182?”

I turned down the music enough that I didn’t have to shout to be heard, “Yeah. First CD I ever bought with my own money was Dude Ranch. Made my mom lose her shit.” I laughed a bit at the memory of her yelling at me to turn ‘that punk shit’ down.

“Lass yer really going tae have stop being so damn perfect. I won’ be able tae stay away.”

My cheeks burned so hot you could’ve fried an egg on my face, “Who said I want you to stay away.” I mumbled sheepishly.

This time he blushed, seemingly not expecting that response, “Well then Ah won’t.” He muttered back.

I smiled to myself, feeling my stomach erupt into a pit of butterflies. I leaned over to turn the radio back up, blasting “What’s My Age Again?”

Bobby’s smile grew a mile wide as he bounced along to the beat, belting out the lyrics in a surprisingly good singing voice. 

We spent the rest of the car ride doing an impromptu carpool karaoke, laughing and smiling as we stumbled through Blink-182 and Green Day.

All too soon I pulled up to Bobby’s building. Sighing sadly I turned the radio off to say goodbye. Before I had the chance to say anything Bobby took my face in both his hands, leaving over the gear shift to crash our lips together in a tender kiss. After a few moments he pulled away, leaving me flustered and swaying slightly.

“What was that for?” I mumbled.

“As a thank ye fir a great date. And maybe an attempt to secure another one.” He winked at me.

“I think I’d like that.” I smiled shyly.

“Sounds great. Ah’ll call ye later?” 

“Can’t wait.” I replied, still a little dazed from the kiss. 

He leaned over and pecked my lips once more before hopping out of the passenger side, waving as I drove away. I felt my entire body warm as he smiled at me.  _ I’m really up shit creek without a paddle now aren’t I? _


	8. Mission: Teaching Rocky to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby meets up with Speedy again and learns 3 years out of the superhero game has left him rusty. Then a breakfast invitation leads to new developments in his relationship with Indi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to anyone who likes reading Bobby's Scottish accent but writing it was kind of messing me up so from here on out I'll mostly be writing his dialogue without it. Again, sorry to anyone who enjoys reading it! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!

**Bobby POV**

I closed my front door, leaning against it and sighing happily.  _ She’s perfect. Very guarded and a bit of a tough nut to crack, but still perfect.  _ I tugged my shirt over my head and flopped down on my couch, closing my eyes and daydreaming about Indi’s emerald eyes and soft, plush lips.

**********

I jerked awake at the sound of my police scanner beeping, then screeching with radio feedback.

“Jakub did you hear that call I just got?” A gruff voice came from the police scanner speaker.

“No what’s going on?” Another gravelly voice responded.

“Sylvester Stallone called in saying they’re asking for Rocky Balboa on the rooftop where he had his first fight.” 

“Kids need better hobbies.” Jakub replied with a wry chuckle.

_ Guess I’m meeting Speedy on that old rooftop from the night we met.  _ I quickly jogged back to my closet to fetch my costume and made my way out.

**********

I climbed up the fire escape to the crumbling building to see Speedy in a backbend, walking on her hands and feet.  _ Oh she’s flexible? Wait no! Get it together McKenzie, Indi’s probably at home asleep right now.  _

She snapped upright as I approached. “Good evening Speedy.” I greeted her.

“Good evening Aang.” She replied, smirking cheekily.  _ Looks like she’s feeling better since last week. _

“Not sure I like Aang as a nickname.” I stated seriously, fighting to keep the corners of my lips from turning upwards and betraying me. 

“Really? How about Rocky?” She replied, cocking an eyebrow up as she stepped closer to me.

“Like your prank call?” 

“Mhmm. You know, since you control the elements, like rocks, and fight, like Rocky Balboa.” She grinned widely, clearly proud of her new nickname idea.

“Well back in my day I went by Tsunami.”

“Haven’t heard of you.” She replied curtly as she started circling me slowly.

I gulped hard, suddenly anxious under her scrutiny, “I’ve been out of the game for a while. Early retirement I guess you could say.”  _ Or you could say my fiancée got killed because of my hero bullshit so I hung up the suit and acted like my powers didn’t exist. _

“Well I like Rocky. So if you’re going to call me Speedy I’m going to call you Rocky.” She said matter-of-factly, seemingly unaware of my internal battle.

“Whatever floats your boat Speedy. So why did you call me here?”

“Well I’m still waiting to hear about that note and was getting antsy so I figured we could use this time to brush up on your fighting skills.” She stopped pacing in front of me, faux purple eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Oh and what makes you think my fighting skills need brushing up on?” I countered, taking a step closer so I was towering over her small frame.

A devilish grin spread across her lips, but I only saw it for a second. In a flash she had sped around me, grabbing my wrists and slamming me face down into the ground as she pinned my arms behind my back. She leaned down, her lips brushing the shell of my ear. 

I could almost hear her triumphant grin as she whispered, “That’s why.”

She was surprisingly strong for someone so small, my muscles burning as I struggled against her grip. I scanned my surroundings for something I could use against her. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a small puddle near the edge of the roof.  _ Jackpot.  _

I focused on the water, willing it to come to me. Speedy shrieked in surprise as she was smacked with a small wave, knocking her off my back and giving me the opportunity to jump back to my feet.

“Don’t ever celebrate a victory prematurely lass.” I winked at her as she stood up and squeezed the water out of her auburn top knot.

“You used to premature victories?” She replied, smirking slightly.  _ Cheeky.  _

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I felt a slight pang of guilt, but for some reason couldn’t stop myself from flirting with her.  _ I’m not really Bobby right now so it’s no big deal, right? _

“If ‘premature victories’ are your thing, then no I definitely don’t.” 

“I’ve had no complaints so far.” I responded.

“That’s nice.” She said simply before taking off again in a flash of purple and blue. I tried to keep my eyes on her, but she was so fast I struggled to. As my head swiveled around trying to maintain a visual on her she launched a kick directly into the back of my right knee, sending me tumbling to the ground with a strangled cry of pain. 

“You ever play chess Rocky?” I heard her distorted voice from somewhere behind me as I clutched my leg.

“I’d rather lick a cheese grater.”

She suddenly zipped to a halt in front of me, her face twisted up in disgust, “Okay first, ew.” 

As I reached out to grab her ankle she sped back out of view again, “And second, fighting is like chess: you need to do more than just move your pieces, you need to be able to anticipate your opponent’s next moves.” 

“Hard to anticipate your moves when you could make 100 of them before I could blink.” I called out as I rose back to my feet, the pain in my leg finally subsiding enough that I could support myself again.

“Well then you need to be strategic. You’ve bested me before. How did you do it?”

I thought for a moment, looking back on the few times I had been able to land a move against her, “I caught you by surprise.” I answered. 

“Well then…” she paused as she appeared in front of me, making eye contact and quirking an eyebrow up, “Surprise me.” With a small smirk she dashed away again. 

_ Surprise you, eh?  _ I looked around again, trying to get a feel for my resources.  _ If I can get a hold of her I can at least stop her from running away.  _

I gathered the puddle from before again, swirling it rapidly until I had a small tornado of water going. I sent the water spinning in the direction I’d last seen Speedy, hoping to throw her off enough that I could grab her. 

Unfortunately, she must’ve seen that coming. At the last moment she dodged it, sending it smacking into the half-wall of the roof’s low ledge. She stopped in front of me, tutting as she shook her head slowly, “That didn’t surprise me. Try har-.”

By some miracle, I was able to grip one of her wrists as she spoke, pulling it behind her and grabbing her other wrist to pin them together. She yelped in surprise as I pulled her against the front of my body to keep her restrained. “Not bad Rocky, not bad.” She said with a chuckle. 

“Had to stop you from running didn’t I?” 

“I suppose that’s true. Although I hope you’re not too comfortable.”  _ Huh?  _

She suddenly hooked one of her feet behind my right ankle, yanking it forward and sending us both tumbling backward. I hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of me. She used that to her advantage, slipping her arms from my grip and running away.

After regaining my breath I stood and dusted myself off. “You’re good, I’ll give you that.” I called out to her.

She appeared in front of me again, giving me a shit eating grin. “I know. Truce?” she asked, holding a hand out to me.

I tapped my chin in pretend contemplation. A devious smile spread across my face as I moved my hand up to meet hers. At the last second I jerked my hand up, sending a large gust of wind at her, knocking her off her feet. “Okay,  _ now  _ we truce.” I answered.

I crossed over to where she was laying on the ground and stuck out a hand to hoist her up. She laughed lightly as she took it and pulled herself to her feet, “Well played Rocky. Well played.”

“Thanks lass.” I replied with a wink.

“Do you want to keep up sparring lessons? Keep us both sharp, just in case.” She proposed.

“Sure. Tuesday nights here?” 

“Sounds solid. I’ll reach out again when I hear back about that note.” She said as she patted my shoulder. 

“Sounds good Speedy.”

“See ya around Rocky.”

“See ya.”

With that she spun on her heel and took off, cutting the night air with a slight breeze as she left.  _ Guess I should go home too. I’m gonna be sore as shit tomorrow. _

*********

I was, in fact, sore as shit when I woke up. I grumbled in pain as I turned over to turn off my alarm.  _ It’s my day off! Why is my alarm going off??  _ My eyes snapped open wide when I saw it wasn’t my alarm but Indi calling me.

I bolted up and cleared my throat a few times before hitting the green call button. “Morning lass!” I answered, trying my best to hide the fact that I had just woken up. 

“Good morning! Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Her melodious voice rang out from my phone’s speaker.  _ Well I guess I didn’t try hard enough.  _

“It’s alright I needed to get up anyway.” I involuntarily groaned as I rolled out of bed.

“You okay love?” A hint of concern played at the edge of her tone. I felt my chest warm.  _ Did she just call me love?  _

“Yeah I’m fine, just worked out for the first time in a while last night so I’m a bit sore.”  _ Only kind of a lie. _

“Too sore for breakfast?” She asked expectantly.

_ I’d come have breakfast with you if my legs got cut off.  _ “Almost never. Where did you have in mind?”

“Well I figured since you made me dinner I could make you some pancakes?” She said the last sentence almost like a question, her usual confidence seeming to fade a bit. 

“Sounds lovely. What time?” 

“Whenever you’re ready. I’ll text you my address. See you in a bit Bobby.” The line cut off after she finished talking. After a moment my phone buzzed with her promised text. 

I had never showered and gotten dressed faster in my life. 

**********

I felt my hands clam up as I stood in front of Indi’s door.  _ Just knock on the damn door McKenzie. She invited you here for fecks sake.  _

After drying my palms on my jeans I tapped my knuckles lightly against her front door. After a couple of seconds her voice rang out from inside the flat “It’s open!”  _ She leaves her door unlocked? _

I cautiously turned her doorknob and stepped into her flat. Her place was definitely nicer and bigger than mine, but I didn’t have much time to process it before my eyes landed on her. 

She was standing in the middle of her kitchen, stirring something in a mixing bowl that was nestled in the crook of her arm. Her long auburn hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, a few shorter curls escaping the elastic and framing her face. 

She had an oversized Ramones t-shirt on over a pair of tattered jeans shorts. The sunlight streaming in from the large window along the back wall danced off her cheeks, highlighting a few pale freckles sprinkled under her eyes and across her nose.  _ She’s breathtaking.  _

Suddenly a large white dog bounded up to me and shoved her nose under my hand. I crouched down and scratched between her ears. “You must be Daisy.”

Daisy closed her eyes and leaned into my hand, clearly enjoying the attention. “You made a new friend Dais? Don’t get too attached, he was mine first!” Indi called out from her spot in the kitchen.  _ Did she just call me hers?? _ My heart almost forgot how to beat. 

“Don’t worry yourself too hard gorgeous I’ve got room for more than one beautiful girl in my life.” I winked at her as I rose to stand again. 

She flashed me one of her brilliant smiles, “You okay? You look tired.” She asked me, her large green eyes studying me. 

“Yeah I’m fine. Like I said, just worked out for the first time in a while.” I chuckled lightly as I made my way from the opening hallway of her flat and into the kitchen. 

Before I could overthink it, I laid my hand on the small of her back and kissed her lightly on the cheek, feeling her skin warm slightly under my lips. 

As I looked around her kitchen my eyes landed on a box of pancake mix. “Oh Inds are you making pancakes from a mix? Just when I thought I found myself a bonnie lass.” I shook my head and tutted at her. 

She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to one side as she set her mixing bowl down on the counter, “Oh I’m sorry not all of us are professional chefs. I’m working with the cooking skills of a university freshman who just bought their first can opener.” She replied indignantly, setting her hands on her hips.  _ The cheek on this one is off the charts.  _

I bellowed out a laugh and mimicked her stance, “Well as much as I like you I’m not eating pancakes made from a mix.”

“Well that’s all I can make so unless you brought homemade pancakes in your pockets those are the kind of pancakes you’re getting.” She gave me a stern look but I could see the corners of her lips twitching as she fought to keep them down. 

“Or I could raid your cupboards and make a proper breakfast.”

“Don’t be silly I didn’t invite you to my home just to force you to cook for me again.” She waved her hand dismissively as she picked her bowl back up off the counter. 

I swiftly grabbed the bowl out of her hands and held it out of her reach, which wasn’t too difficult given our height difference, “You’re not forcing me to do anything lass, I’m offering.”

She jumped up and down a few times, unsuccessfully swiping at the bowl. She huffed slightly, setting her hands on her hips and glaring up at me, “Fine. I suppose I owe you a favor though.” She bit her lip and winked at me, sending a small jolt of excitement to my dick.  _ Oh god it’s been too long. But man those lips would feel good wrapped around me.  _

I gulped hard, making her giggle before turning and walking out of the room. I blushed furiously as I tried to think of the least sexy things possible. She came back a few moments later, holding a fluffy black cat in one arm and book in the other. 

“Klaus, Bobby. Bobby, Klaus.” She motioned between me and the cat. 

I walked around the marble countertop and crossed to where they were standing. I scratched under Klaus’s chin, making him purr. “Nice to meet you Klaus. Where’s Ben?”

Her eyes lit up as her lips tugged into a small smile, “Aw you remembered! He’s quite shy so you probably won’t see him the first few times you come over. He takes a minute to get used to new people.” 

“Gonna be bringing me over to make you breakfast a lot yeah?” I joked, trying to calm my racing heart.  _ She wants me to keep coming over.  _

“Well that’s gotta be a perk of dating a chef right? You can come over and make me food then blow my back out.” She replied nonchalantly, making me choke on my own spit. 

She started cracking up at my shocked face, doubling over and dropping her book as she clutched onto Klaus, who gave her an annoyed look. 

“You should’ve seen your face!” She got out between giggles. 

“Well I...I mean I...you’re so…” I stammered, still at a loss for words. Thankfully her phone started ringing, rescuing me from my floundering. 

“Hold that thought.” She said, still giggling. She took a few deep breaths to calm down her laughter, then picked up her phone. “What’s up Lozza?” 

She paused as the person on the other end spoke for a minute. Her face grew suddenly serious as her eyes flitted over to me. “Just a sec let me step in the other room.”

Suddenly her face grew bright red as whoever ‘Lozza’ was said something, “Not relevant!” She practically shrieked. “We’ll talk about it later.” She mumbled as she stepped in her bedroom and closed the door. 

_ Well that was strange.  _ I brushed it off, heading back into her kitchen to figure out breakfast. 


	9. Mission: New Clues and Bread Crumbs Laid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Indi finally gets word from Lottie about the note found in Kirstie's apartment, and over breakfast notices something weird about Bobby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the discord for forcing me to finally update! Thanks a billion to Lauren for being the best beta reader ever! Comments and kudos are always so appreciated!
> 
> I will try to update this fic more, since it's probably my favorite to write. Just my perfectionism can be a bit of a roadblock sometimes!

**Indi POV**

Lottie’s laugh crackled through the speaker of my phone as I pulled my bedroom door shut. “You done now?” I asked indignantly as I flopped down on my bed.

“Did he spend the night?” she managed to squeak out through giggles.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh c’mon Di, why would you go to another room unless that pastry chef is there and you don’t want him finding out about your extracurricular activities?”

_ I hate how well she knows me.  _ “Who I may or may not have over is irrelevant right now. What did Marisol say about the note?”

Lottie finally stopped laughing as I heard her move things around on the other end of the line. “Okay so this is what she told me: the handwriting appears to be written by a male, probably in his mid to late twenties.”

“Great so only half of Scotland,” I grumbled, throwing my body back against my mattress and kicking my feet.

“Sorry babes. I can still go to the hotel and see who they’ve had stay in the last week that fits that profile. Narrow down the suspect pool a bit,” Lottie offered.

“That would be amazing Loz. Talk to you later?”

I could hear her smirk through the phone. “You seem to be in a hurry to get off the phone…”

“I’m just busy Lozza. I’ll talk to you later.” I ended the call before she could make another snarky remark.

With a sigh I pushed my bedroom door open, the smell of spanish omelettes permeating my senses as my eyes fell on Bobby in the kitchen. The corners of my mouth twitched up as I watched him cook, so in his element.  _ Confidence suits him. _

“Smells delicious Bobs,” I called out, breaking his focus.

“Thanks lass,” he replied with a cheeky grin.

“You really didn’t have to cook.”

“Oh but I did sweet Indi. There is absolutely no way I was eating pancakes made from  _ box mix.”  _ He shuddered slightly as he finished his sentence.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. “I’ll have you know I’ve eaten box mix pancakes many times and I only have severe trust issues from childhood trauma.”

He barked out a laugh. “Well maybe you can open up to me over a proper breakfast.”

I snorted. “Not likely. But I appreciate the yummy food nonetheless.”

He grinned as he brought a plate over to me at the breakfast bar, setting it down in front of me as I slid onto one of my wooden barstools. I felt his thigh brush mine as he slid in next to me, a comfortable silence falling as we ate.

I chanced a sidelong glance at him as he ate, startling when our eyes met. He gave me an adoring smile before returning to his meal, making my heart flutter in an unfamiliar way.  _ Is this what a crush is like? Never let myself have one before. _

“So you work at the hospital, but what do you do for fun?” I inquired, resting my elbow on the countertop and laying my head on my hand as I watched him mull over my question.

“Well I do bake on my own time. I also like being outside a lot. Nature calms me,” he replied after a moment.

“That’s really nice. I always loved being outside as a kid. I was a bit of a tornado of destruction as a child so being outside made it easier to avoid breaking things.” I chuckled to myself as I remembered tearing through our neighborhood and being back before my parents even noticed I was gone.

Bobby snickered softly. “I was a bit of a hellion too. Ma always says she hopes if I have kids they’re as disastrous as I was.”

My body tensed at the mention of kids.  _ There’s no way I’m risking giving my kids the curse of mutant powers. _

Fortunately my mental spiral was cut off by a knock at the door. I furrowed my brow as I turned to look.  _ Who would that be? _

“Sorry love. Just a sec,” I told Bobby before hopping out of my stool and trotting towards the door. I swung it open to see a wide grin painting Lottie’s pale face.

“Lottie! What’s up babe?” I leaned against the door, trying to appear casual.  _ Please don’t ask to come in. Please don’t ask to come in. Please don’t ask to come in. _

“Can I come in? Wanted to chat about that thing from earlier.” She smiled as she shifted to the side, trying to see past me.  _ Shit! _

“Not a good time Loz.”

“Oh really? Why is that? Have any  _ guests? _ ” 

“No I’m just busy,” I lied.

“You know you’re shit at lying to me right?” She pushed past me and into my apartment, forcing a grumble out of me as I trailed behind her.  _ Can’t speed ahead of you. Little too soon to break to Bobby that I have superpowers. Not really normal breakfast banter. _

“Hi! You must be Bobby!” she exclaimed, dark lips spreading into a shit eating grin as she came to a stop across from Bobby.

Bobby’s eyes grew wide as he looked back and forth between me and Lottie. I put on a fake smile as I groaned internally.

“Aye, that’s me. And you are?” He held out a hand to Lottie.

“Oh goodness me, where are my manners, I’m Lottie.” She shook Bobby’s hand excitedly, giving him her signature ‘charm-the-pants-off-him’ smirk. 

“Oh you’re Lottie! I heard you hate everyone equally,” Bobby replied, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Oh I see Indi has been talking about me.” She cut me a quick side eye before snickering quietly.

“Sure has. It’s nice to meet you.” He gave her another dazzling smile before winking at me over her shoulder.

“You too! Indi wasn’t exaggerating how handsome you are.” She turned and winked at me quickly, making me roll my eyes.

“Well it looks like I’ve been sufficiently embarrassed for the rest of the year! Like I said Lozza, I’m a bit busy, so I’ll call you later yeah?” I gave her a sickly-sweet smile, not-so-subtly trying to get rid of her.

“Okay, okay. I’ll let you crazy kids get back to your date.” She giggled quietly as I pushed her back towards the door.

“I’ll talk to you later Lottie,” I said as I pushed her past the threshold of my front door.

“He is really cute. Poke a hole in that condom,” she joked, winking and sticking her tongue out.

“ _ Lottie!” _

“Alright, alright I’m going!” she exclaimed before waving and shutting the door.

With a huff, I rejoined Bobby at the breakfast bar. He looked like he was straining to hold in a laugh as I threw myself back down in my barstool.

“She seems nice,” he commented, his tone laced with mirth.

“Har har,” I replied, kicking his leg lightly.

He winced suddenly, gripping the back of his leg. “Oh babe I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, stroking his arm softly.

“It’s alright lass, not your fault. I whacked my leg last night.” He gave me a strained smile.

“Sorry hun. You want me to take a look at it? I’ve gotten my fair share of bruises.” I chuckled awkwardly, still feeling guilty about hurting him.

“No, it’s alright lass, I’ll be fine. Thank you though.” His sweet smile warmed my insides.  _ God I hope you don’t hate me if you find out my secrets. I’m getting so attached to that smile.  _

As I tilted my head to look at his leg, I couldn’t help but think,  _ That’s about where I kicked Rocky.  _ With a quick shake of my head, I dismissed it.  _ But that’s ridiculous.  _


	10. Mission: More Questions Than Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Speedy and Rocky question Kirstie's kidnapper, and some of Rocky's past comes to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Your comments and kudos make me so happy!
> 
> As always, thank you my lovely beta Lauren for making me seem smarter than I am!
> 
> TW: some mild violence
> 
> Tumblr is @chroniccomicobsession and Reddit is u/ChronicComicObssess

**Bobby POV**

After breakfast with Indi I headed back to my flat to nap. _I wonder why she made that face when she looked at my leg. Doesn’t seem like the squeamish type._ I shook it off as I kicked off my shoes, collapsing on my couch with a loud huff. _Goddamn I’m tired. Good thing I only agreed to sparring once a week._

**********

After a pleasantly dreamless sleep I rose to make dinner, whipping up a quick batch of tacos. As I doled the meat out onto the row of soft flour shells, my police scanner crackled to life. 

“Zabinski, listen to this, some wee bairn just called asking me to send their ma to the hotel. Said she found the clues to solve the mystery. What a load of shite.”

_The hotel?? Speedy must have something on that note._ I quickly shoved my meal into the fridge, rushing to my bedroom to get changed into my suit. _Hopefully we’re closer to finding Kirstie._

**********

I sucked in a few shallow breaths, my chest heaving from running. _How does she run so much without absolutely dying?? I know she’s got super speed but still._

“You need to do more cardio,” Speedy quipped from her perch on a bin behind the hotel, startling me slightly. 

“Noted,” I huffed out, making her chuckle.

“So update on the note: had a mate get the handwriting analyzed, then cross referenced the findings with people who had rented a room here around the time Kirstie was kidnapped. Then I narrowed it down further by people who paid in cash and bingo, got our guy.” She handed me a small piece of paper as she finished her explanation. It was a zoomed out, grainy shot of a big lad with curly ginger hair, a large chest tattoo visible under his stretched out white t-shirt. 

“So this is our guy?”

“I think so. His name is Miles Thomson, but he reserved the room under the initials GTC. People at the reception desk said he was really dodgy, but they figured he was selling drugs or something.”

“Weird. How did you find his real name?” I inquired, arching an eyebrow at her.

“I have my means,” she paused to wink. “He’s apparently a freelance contractor for business parks, but I’m guessing it’s a front for whatever hit work he seems to be doing. Contract work is a common cover for people like that. Makes it easier to explain sudden deposits of large amounts of money.”

“You seem to know a lot about this stuff,” I commented casually, trying to get some ideas about the enigmatic woman.

“Not my first rodeo,” she replied, tapping the side of her nose.

“Gotcha. So is he still here?”

“Yes. Apparently he checks out tomorrow evening.”

“Why did he stay this long after finishing the job?”

She shrugged. “Not sure. Guess we can ask him when we get to his room. Fifth floor, room 515.”

“Woah woah, we’re not going in there guns blazing are we?” I asked incredulously.

“Why not? I find people are more likely to talk with the threat of broken bones.” With that, she hopped off her spot on her trash bin, breezing past me and towards the back entrance of the hotel.

“Wait!” I called out as I jogged after her.

“What?” She whipped around, resting her hands on her hips as she cut me an annoyed glare.

“Let’s just be careful, okay?” I advised gently, pleading silently with her. _Don’t get yourself hurt._

“Always. Now c’mon Rocky. Let’s get some answers.”

**********

“How do we get in?” I asked tentatively as we stopped in front of room 515.

“I was going to break the door down but if you have a better suggestion I’m all ears,” she whispered, tilting her head back to make eye contact with me, issuing a silent challenge. 

I rolled my eyes, holding a finger up to her before turning my attention to the metal latch. Closing my eyes, I focused on the metal, willing water and air to penetrate the lock. After a few moments I reopened my eyes, pointing to the lock that was now severely rusted.

Speedy raised her eyebrows, glancing back and forth between me and the lock, a hint of admiration ghosting her features. “Not bad Rocky, not bad.”

“Thanks lass. After you?” I gestured towards the door. She grinned cheekily before giving the door a quick push, breaking the lock with ease.

She cracked the door open slowly, doing a quick scan of the room through the small opening. I watched as the look on her face changed from cautious curiosity to determination. _Here we go._

In a flash she had thrown the door open, slamming into Miles at top speed. With a loud grunt he landed on the floor, facedown with Speedy on top of him, pinning his arms behind him. _He’s bigger than me. I hope she can hold him in that position as well as she held me._

“Where is she?!?!” she barked, driving a knee into his back.

“Who??” he replied, groaning in pain. As she held him down I started looking through the room, throwing open his closet door and rifling through his drawers.

She shifted her grip on his hands to free up one of hers. With her now free hand she grabbed a handful of his bright orange curls, lifting his head up and slamming it into the floor, making him cry out.

“Where. Is. She. And for your sake you might want to answer this time. I’m not fond of repeating myself.”

“Who?? The blonde girl??”

“The blonde girl has a name,” she growled, slamming his head into the floor another time. “And a family,” she paused as she let go of his hair and took one of his hands in hers, bending a finger back until it snapped loudly, forcing a strangled scream past his thin lips. “And a life.” Another pause as she broke another finger. “And I recommend you tell me what you know, or I’ll keep breaking things until I get answers.” _Yikes. She’s scary when you’re on her bad side._

I flexed my fingers as I reminded myself not to cross her. I rifled through his desk drawers, finding only old fast food receipts and random doodles. I let out a sharp breath as I found a long blonde hair tangled in a crumbled up burger receipt. 

“Fuck okay! Stop! I don’t know much, but I’ll give you what I can. Just stop breaking me, please!” He conceded, whimpering quietly as she dropped his mangled hand.

“Okay. Talk.”

“Goddammit, they didn’t warn me about you,” he grumbled as she lifted off of him, keeping a hold on his hands as she pulled him upright. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I watched the giant man be reduced to a whining, crying mess by a woman half his size.

“They, who’s they?” I cut in, dropping the papers I was shuffling through.

“GTC. The company that hired me to kidnap that girl.”

“Who’s GTC? Why did they hire you? Why Kirstie?” Speedy rattled off.

“I don’t know. They were well cagey about who they are and what they do. I didn’t ask a lot of questions.”

“So they didn’t give you anything? No instructions beyond telling you to snatch Kirstie and throw her in the Loch Ness?” I quipped.

“I was told to go to that address and grab the girl, hand her off, then wait for you to find me,” he nodded his head towards me.

“Wait what? They told you to wait for him?” Speedy inquired, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“Aye. They didn’t warn me a fast lassie would come and break my fingers,” he grumbled.

“Why would they tell you to wait for him…” she mused in a low voice.

“I don’t know. I don’t give much of a shit about weird instructions when I’m getting 50 thousand quid.”

“Who did you hand Kirstie off to? Where did they take her?” I asked, trying to get the questioning back on track.

“I took her to a van behind an old library on the other side of town. I don’t know what they did with her beyond that. That’s all I know about blondie, okay?? Can I go now??” Miles begged, pulling against Speedy’s grip.

“Fine,” she snapped, yanking him back and slamming his head hard against his desk, knocking him out. “Let’s tie him up and call 999, the police can take care of him from here.”

I nodded quickly, looking around the room for materials to restrain him. As I gathered up some rope and zipties I found in his closet, one thing played over and over in my mind. _I’m the reason Kirstie got kidnapped._

**********

After calling 999, we left quickly, not wanting to be at the scene when the police arrived. I kept replaying the conversation with Miles over and over, trying to figure out how I played into all of this. 

I suddenly stopped, my heart dropping to my stomach. _What if they’re the same people who killed Priya…._

“You okay Rocky?” Speedy cut through my spiraling, finally breaking the silence that had descended since we left the hotel.

“No. I’m not. I’m the reason Kirstie was kidnapped. I’m the reason Scott is falling apart. And I think I know who did all this. I think it’s someone I’ve met before.”

Speedy furrowed her brow, cocking her head to the side as she studied me. Finally she strode over to a nearby bench, taking a seat and patting the spot next to her.

With a sigh, I joined her, resting my elbows on my knees and throwing my head into my hands. She patted my back awkwardly in an attempt to soothe me. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t ask someone to kidnap her. They did that of their own volition.”

“You heard Miles! He was told to kidnap her and wait for me to come after him! This was all a stunt to pull me out of hiding,” I exclaimed, messing with my hood to soothe my urge to run my fingers through my locs. _She probably doesn’t know me in real life but still. Can’t risk her knowing who I am._

She paused, absorbing my words, eyes darting back and forth as she formulated a response. “You said you think you’ve met them before, let’s follow that lead. How do you know them?” She asked calmly, her purple eyes regarding me kindly. The tension in my shoulders eased slightly as I realized she wasn’t blaming me.

“So I was with a woman, we’ll call her Allie. Long story short, Allie eventually found out about my powers. She was really upset, didn’t speak to me for a week, but she came around. I thought everything would be perfect after that. She had seen the ugliest, darkest part of me but still didn’t leave. Everything was fine until about a year after she found out.”

I paused, gathering my breath. “There was some laboratory that had been studying people like us. They wanted to study me, dissect me, figure out why I can do what I can do.”

I paused again, choking up slightly. I hadn’t talked about Priya in years. I felt my eyes prickle as tears started to fall, soaking into the fabric of my mask. Warmth spread through me as Speedy’s hand started to rub small circles into my back, more confident than before. After a deep breath, I continued. “They kidnapped her and tortured her for information on me, but she wouldn’t give in. She was determined to protect me. So they killed her.” I slowly started to sob as I finished my story.

“I’m so sorry,” she breathed out quietly, resting her free hand on my thigh, rubbing comforting circles with her thumb.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

“No. It isn’t. You're not to blame because some bullshit lab wants to tear you apart and study you like you’re an animal,” she replied sternly, giving my thigh a gentle squeeze.

My heart fluttered softly in my chest as I chanced a glance back up at her. Her large eyes regarded me softly, adoration permeating her gaze. I felt myself start to lean towards her, overwhelmed with emotion as we maintained eye contact. Thankfully before I got too close an image of Indi flashed behind my eyes, causing me to jerk back. _I may not really be Bobby right now, but I can’t just go around kissing random women because I have a mask and a hood on._

“I guess. So what do we do now?” I asked, shifting awkwardly as I scooted back.

“Well let’s put a pin in it for tonight. I’ll do some research on that GTC thing Miles mentioned. You get some rest. I’ll see you Tuesday?”

“Sounds good, Speedy.” I smiled at her briefly before rising off the bench.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked softly, standing with me.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks lass.”

“No problem. I’ll see you later Rocky.”

“See you later Speedy.”

With a small wave, she sped off, disappearing into the night. _Fucking hell, what do we do now?_

  
  
  
  



	11. Mission: First Times and Sudden Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This is a long one, so buckle up! Your comments and kudos make me so happy! Thanks again to my amazing beta Lauren (daisybarks) for all your help and support!
> 
> In case it's not your thing, there is smut in this chapter, but the beginning and end is marked by '^^^^^' so you can skip if you'd like!
> 
> Tumblr is @chroniccomicobsession and Reddit is u/ChronicComicObssess

**Indi POV**

I collapsed against my couch, exhausted as I yanked my mask off and let my hair down.  _ So kidnapping Kirstie was all a ploy to pull Rocky out of hiding. And more than likely, the people who took her are the same ones that killed his ex.  _

Sighing heavily, I reached for my phone. My thumb hovered for a moment before hitting the green call button next to Bobby’s name. After a few rings he picked up. 

“Hey lass, what’s up?” His voice sounded strange, pained almost. 

“Hey babe, you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just tired. What about you? It’s kind of late.” 

“Yeah, I just had a rough day at work and wanted to hear your voice.” My eyes widened slightly at my admission.  _ This guy is bringing out a side of me I didn’t know existed.  _

He hesitated for a moment, making my heart rate quicken as panic rose in my chest. “It’s great to hear yours too,” he finally admitted in a soft voice.

I let out a relieved sigh. “Okay enough sappiness, what have you been up to today? Well, at least since you left.”

“This and that. Nothing too exciting. What about you?” he replied, his tone stiff and awkward. 

“Just got a bit of work done, nothing too crazy.” My chest tightened as the lie rolled off my tongue with ease.  _ I already hate lying to you.  _

“You actually have pretty good timing. Got an invite from Chels to go to dinner at her house tomorrow night. Would you like to be my plus one?”

I smiled broadly despite myself. “That sounds great. Is this like a fancy dinner, or will jeans and a sweater suffice?”

“That’ll be perfect, lass.” I could almost hear his smile.

**********

Bobby and I spoke for a little over an hour before we finally hung up, both in desperate need of sleep. 

After a quick shower I slipped on a clean pair of underwear and an oversized sweatshirt, enjoying the way the soft fabric glided over my clean skin. 

With a deep sigh, I collapsed onto my bed, making Ben mewl in displeasure as I rattled the bed frame he was perched on. “Sorry baby,” I mumbled quietly.

My thoughts started to race as I wrapped my arms around one of my pillows, clutching it tightly against my body.  _ Why do I feel like we’re even further from finding Kirstie, despite our big break tonight? How does Rocky fit into all of this? How did they not know about me? What if they come after me next? _

My thoughts were cut off by a loud meow piercing through the eerie silence in the room. I tilted my head to see Ben perched over me, giving me his signature grumpy face. Laughing softly, I stretched my arm up to scratch his head. “Okay buddy, I’ll go to sleep.”

With a soft huff, Ben hopped down, curling into my side and promptly falling asleep. I ran my fingers through his soft fur slowly as I drifted off to sleep.

**********

I awoke with a jerk as Daisy pounced onto my bed, jostling the mattress under her weight. “Just a few more minutes Dais,” I mumbled sleepily, pushing her away.

But Daisy didn’t give up, patting at me with one of her large, fluffy paws. “Ugh fine,” I grumbled, throwing my covers off. As I padded out into my living room, I jumped at the sight of Lottie curled up in the corner of my couch, nose buried in a large hardcover book. 

“Fucking hell, Lottie! You need to stop breaking in. One of these days I’m gonna end up accidentally hurting you.”

She cut her eyes up at me with a blank look. “It’s not exactly breaking in if you give me a key, Di.”

“I guess not, but at least warn me please,” I conceded. As I finished my sentence, my stomach growled loudly. 

I sped over to the fridge, pulling out leftovers from Bobby’s Spanish omelettes. Lottie watched on with wide eyes as I popped them in the microwave. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to watching you move that fast.”

I cut her a droll look as I waited for my leftovers to heat up. “You’ve known for years, Loz.”

“But I barely see you do it. It’s weird to see a real life human move that fast. Bit different than watching  _ The Flash.”  _

“I have a bone to pick with that show. I can’t fucking run through time.”

Lottie rolled her eyes as she set her book down and made her way to the kitchen bar, gracefully sliding into a barstool. “I don’t think they designed Barry Allen knowing super speed actually exists.”

I shrugged as I pulled my food out of the microwave, grabbing an extra fork for Lottie. “S’pose not.” 

I set the plate down on the bar with a clatter, handing Lottie the extra fork. She smiled gratefully at me as she scooped up a bite. I leaned against the opposite side of the counter, pushing the food around with my fork aimlessly. 

Lottie’s eyes bugged out as she chewed. “Shit, Di, this is delicious! If you don’t marry him, I will.”

I chortled as I dug into the meal with her. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“When do you see him next?”

“Tonight. He invited me to a dinner party at a friend’s house.”

Lottie cocked an eyebrow up as she studied me. “You’re meeting his friends?”

“I’ve already met the hostess. We ran into her at the gardens. I’m not sure if anyone else is coming, but apparently they’ve been doing get togethers for a while. Bobby’s just been absent for the past bit.”

“Hmmm. You know why?”

“Nope. Apparently something bad happened and he kind of holed up. He sort of avoided explaining it. Explains why I only ran into him once at Scott or Kirstie’s though.”

Lottie pursed her dark lips in thought. “That’s weird. Do you know why he’s keeping it a secret?”

I shook my head. “No clue. Don’t even know what ‘it’ is. But I figured if I can have my secrets, he can have his.”

With a shrug, Lottie grabbed the empty plate and our forks and took them over to the dishwasher. “I guess so. Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

“Bobby said sweater and jeans would be fine.”

Her face screwed up distaste. “Sweater and jeans, Di? Please tell me you’re at least wearing some sexy lingerie underneath.”

“I mean, I don’t know. Not sure we’re there yet.”

Lottie’s brows jumped in surprise as she backed away from the dishwasher, leaning back against the sink. “Have you two not shagged yet?”

I shook my head sheepishly, cutting my gaze down.

“Wow. I’ve never known you to move slow.”

“I mean I’ve never actually dated anyone either.”

Lottie nodded slowly, brows furrowed together. “When are you planning on sealing the deal?”

I shrugged. “I mean maybe tonight? If he’s down for it.”

“Oh he definitely is. You should see the way he looks at you.”

I cocked my head to the side, pinching my brows together. “What do you mean?”

“I was here all of five minutes and I’ve never seen a man gaze so adoringly at you.”

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as I avoided her eyes, a soft giggle bubbling out of my chest.

Her signature smirk painted her face as she watched me. “And that reaction tells me you feel the same way.”

My blush deepened as I shuffled my feet. “I guess. I don’t know, this is all very new to me.”

Lottie crossed the kitchen and pulled me into a hug. “I know babes. But it’ll be okay. You can let people in sometimes.”

I sighed as I hugged her back, her familiar sandalwood scent soothing my nerves. “I guess so. Guess we’ll see how dinner goes.”

**********

I shifted nervously in the driver’s seat of my car as I waited in the parking lot of Bobby’s apartment. Lottie helped me pick out my outfit again, the two of us landing on an oversized black sweater and light washed jeans paired with combat boots and a long silver chain necklace. I opted to leave my hair down in soft curls with minimal makeup, going for a more casual look.

My hands clammed up as I fired off a quick text, letting Bobby know I was there.  _ It’s just a few friends, no big deal. Maybe sex afterwards, also no big deal. _

I jumped in my seat as Bobby pulled the passenger door open, smiling brightly as his eyes fell on me. “You look lovely, lass.”

My lips automatically spread into a schoolgirl-ish grin. “Thanks, babe. So do you.” I nodded to his outfit as I started my car back up. He had on black skinny jeans and a white button-up, complimenting his lean physique and tan skin. His amber eyes twinkled as my gaze moved up and down his frame.

“Thanks, gorgeous. You ready for this?”

I nodded quickly, trying to shove my nerves down. “Yeah, for sure. Just a few friends right?”

He nodded. “Well, Chelsea and her fiancé Elijah will be there. She’ll probably invite one or two other people, but nothing too crazy. She likes to keep her dinner parties ‘classy.’” He curled his fingers in air quotes around the word classy.

I chuckled softly as I followed my GPS’s directions to Chelsea’s house. “Okay cool. I’m not intimidated by crowds; I’ve just never done all this before.”

“All what?”

“Well, dating someone, meeting their friends, going to public events together.”

He reached over and rested a hand on my thigh, squeezing gently. “You’ll do great, lass. I promise. And if you ever want to leave, just let me know and we’ll head out.”

I nodded as my shoulders relaxed a bit. “Thanks, Bobby.”

“Not a problem, Indi.” He flashed me a cheeky grin.

**********

After a 20 minute drive into the suburbs, we arrived at Chelsea’s house. It was an ornate two story residence, the pale pink siding complimenting the bright white shutters and doors.  _ How does she keep her shutters that clean? _

Bobby hurried around to my door, opening it for me and holding out his hand as I pulled the key out of the ignition. With a soft smile, I grasped it, letting him pull me out of the vehicle. I took a deep breath as we walked towards the door, bracing myself for the evening.  _ Why am I more nervous about dinner with a perky interior designer than I was about confronting a kidnapper? _

Bobby gave my hand a quick squeeze before knocking on Chelsea’s door. After a brief pause, the large white door swung open, revealing a very excited looking Chelsea, bouncing on her heels as she squealed. “Bobby!! OMG I’m so glad you brought your girlfriend!” 

I involuntarily tensed at the word ‘girlfriend,’ earning a sidelong glance from Bobby. “It’s great to see you again Chels. Thanks for inviting us,” Bobby replied, releasing my hand to pull the bouncing blonde into a tight hug. 

“Of course! Please come in!” She stepped aside as she ushered us into her house. As we stepped inside, I could see why she went into interior design. Her house was beautifully decorated, bright and welcoming with cute knick knacks and cheesy quotes distributed tastefully throughout the home.

She directed us through the main foyer into her large kitchen, where a handsome, dark skinned man was setting out fancy looking china. “Elijah, babes! Bobby and Indi are here!”

Elijah looked up from what he was doing, flashing us a bright smile. “It’s great to see you again,Bobs! And you’re Indi, I presume?”

I nodded as I crossed the kitchen and held out a hand to him. His eyes flickered to it briefly before pulling me into a hug, making me chuckle softly in surprise.  _ I can see why they’re together. _

“It’s nice to meet you,” I breathed out as he pulled away.

“And you. So glad Bobby’s getting back out there. Tragic what happened and all, but I think it was past time to move forward.”

_ Tragic? What’s he talking about?  _ I cocked an eyebrow up in question as I turned to Bobby, who had visibly stiffened. I chose not to push it, moving back to his side and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. “Well, Bobby’s a great guy. It’s been lovely getting to know him.”

Bobby’s shoulders softened as he weaved an arm around my waist, bending down to plant a quick kiss on my lips. “The feeling is definitely mutual.”

“Eek! You two are totes adorable!” Chelsea squealed, clapping her hands together rapidly.

I blushed as Bobby’s arm tightened around my waist. “Thanks, Chels. Do you know who else is coming?”

“Hope and her new boyfriend should be here any minute! And I invited Scott but he said he couldn’t come.” She pouted for a moment before returning to her usual cheery smile.

Bobby and I shared a quick sideways glance before turning back to her. “Who’s Hope?” I asked the blonde.

“An old coworker of mine. She and her boyfriend are here for some doctor conference thing for him!”

Right on cue, another knock on the door echoed throughout the foyer and kitchen. “That must be them!” Chelsea exclaimed before tottering quickly back towards the front door. A few moments later she came back chattering with a tall, ebony woman with long box braids and impeccably done makeup. She had a confident energy that commanded the room, her bright yellow wrap dress complimenting her skin tone and accentuating her long legs.  _ I feel like we’re going to be friends. _

However, my body stiffened as her boyfriend followed her into the room. A tall Korean man with a jawline that could cut steel, dressed to the nines in the most expensive and elegant evening wear.  _ Lucas Koh.  _

“You alright, lass?” Bobby leaned down and whispered in my ear.

Instead of responding, I took ahold of his arm and pulled him into the adjoining dining room, earning a few suspicious glances. “I know her boyfriend,” I whispered.

“So?”

“Bobby, I  _ know  _ her boyfriend.” I raised my eyebrows, trying to hint at what I meant.

His brows furrowed for a moment until realization dawned on his face, his eyes quickly darting towards the kitchen before returning to my face. “I thought you hadn’t dated anyone before??”

“I never said I was a virgin, Bobby! We hooked up a few times when I was on a business trip in Oxford.”

“Oh…” he muttered quietly.

“Yeah. I don’t know if he remembers me, but still. Awkward.”

“I doubt anyone has ever forgotten you, lass.” 

My cheeks burned at the intensity of his gaze. “Well, I have no clue. But he’s here with his girlfriend and I’m here with you. I can’t be all like, ‘yo, remember that time we plowed?’”

Bobby chuckled quietly, shaking his head. “Well, no you can’t. But we also can’t stand here whispering for much longer. Just go back and act natural.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

He pecked my forehead quickly before looping his arm back around my waist, tugging me along with him back to the kitchen. We ignored the questioning looks, turning back to Hope and Lucas.

“Nice to meet you both, I’m Bobby and this is Indi,” Bobby announced, motioning to me as he reached the end of his sentence.

“Nice to meet you both. I’m Hope, and this is my boyfriend Lucas,” Hope replied, waving a hand in Lucas’s direction.

“Nice to meet you both,” Lucas said simply, his eyes lingering on me with his signature smoulder.  _ I guess he remembers me. _

“You too,” I replied, forcing myself to hold my composure.

“Let’s all go sit!! Elijah, babe, can you help me bring in the food?” Chelsea chattered away, not seeming to notice the tension in the room. Elijah nodded as he moved out from behind the kitchen island and towards the dining room, motioning for us to follow.

The dining room was just as stunning as the rest of the house. The white legs of the large rectangular table poked out from under the royal blue tablecloth, six matching chairs surrounding it. The wall behind was adorned with a cutesy sign that read, ‘You Had Me at Merlot.’ The room was bright and welcoming, as if it was a piece of Chelsea herself. 

Bobby separated from me, walking around the table and pulling out one of the chairs, nodding for me to follow him. I smiled softly as I followed his lead, sitting down and allowing him to push me into the table.  _ What a gentleman.  _ He planted a quick kiss on my temple before sliding into the chair next to mine.

Lucas and Hope took the chairs on the opposite side of the table, whispering quietly as Elijah and Chelsea set a plate in front of each of us. After each grabbing their own plates, the two claimed the remaining seats at each end of the table.

“Is this Gary’s nan’s recipe?” Bobby inquired, pointing at the roast dinner on our plates.

“Totes! She’s such a good cook; I hope I did her roast justice!” Chelsea answered, bouncing animatedly in her seat.

The table was relatively quiet for a while, the sounds of cutlery clinking and people chewing the only thing cutting through the silence.

“So, I totally forgot to ask, how did you two meet?” Chelsea chirped, motioning between Bobby and me.

“I work with Kirstie. Was over at Scott’s when Bobby stopped by, and the rest is history,” I answered.

“Cute! I didn’t know you had started going back out, Bobby!” Chelsea’s bright blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as she studied Bobby.

“Aye, decided to stop by for a visit when I ran into this lovely lass,” Bobby’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he tried to change the subject.

“I’m surprised Bobby asked you out, you’re like the exact opposite of Priya, not saying you’re not totally gorgeous though!” Chelsea added, not seeming to notice how Bobby tensed and clenched his jaw.

“Priya?” I asked, turning my gaze from Chelsea to Bobby.

“Oh no, did you not know?”

“Not know what?” I tried to hide the irritation in my voice as Bobby avoided my eyes.

“Oh, sugar. My big mouth did it again.” I felt a twinge of guilt at the dejection in Chelsea’s voice.

“We can talk about it later,” Bobby whispered in my ear, grabbing my hand and squeezing it quickly.

“Oh, Bobby I’m so sorry, I figured you would’ve told her! It’s just been so long since she - “

“It’s fine Chels. Don’t worry yourself. How has wedding planning been going?” Bobby cut Chelsea off, steering the conversation away from whatever he wasn’t telling me about whoever ‘Priya’ was.

“Oh, it’s been so great! We met with the planner last week and she…” Chelsea began droning on about her plans for hers and Elijah’s wedding, but I started tuning her out as I got lost in thought.  _ Who is Priya? She’s obviously an ex, but why is everyone tiptoeing around her like this? Messy breakup? Cheated on him? Did she die? _

Bobby squeezed my hand again, pulling me out of my daze. His soft amber eyes were silently pleading with me, melting me a bit. I returned his squeeze quickly, smiling softly. The relief was evident in his eyes as we turned back to the conversation.

“So Indi, how long have you and Bobby been dating?” Lucas’s posh accent floated across the table, sending shivers down my spine.

“A couple of weeks,” I replied simply, taking a sip of water to hide my flushed cheeks.

“Are you normally the dating type?” His tone was pointed as he pierced me with his deep brown eyes.  _ Are we really going to rehash this now? In front of your new girl? _

“Not usually, no. More of a solitary type person.”

“Must be something special to change your mind then, huh?”

My jaw clenched as I fought back an eye roll. “Yeah, I think he is.” I turned my attention to Bobby, offering him an affectionate smile.

Bobby returned my smile, but I could see the panic bubbling just below the surface.

“You okay, love? You’re acting strange,” Hope cut in, giving Lucas a pointed look.

“I’m fine. Just fascinated with our company,” Lucas replied, giving her his signature bedroom eyes.

She sighed quietly, clearly not completely satisfied with his answer, but not willing to fight over it in the moment.  _ Sorry hun. That’s not fair to you.  _

**********

After roughly another hour of awkward conversation and a million goodbye hugs with Chelsea and Elijah, Bobby and I were finally able to get back to my car. I could almost feel the nervous energy pouring off of him as I pulled out of the driveway.

“Just ask it please,” I finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Ask what?”

“Whatever question is clearly bothering you.”

With a sigh, Bobby finally relented. “What was Lucas getting at? All that about you not being the dating type?”

I blew out a loud breath as I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Like I said, Lucas and I hooked up a few times when I was staying in Oxford for a month for work. He wanted us to be more, I didn’t. I don’t think he’s really used to rejection; didn’t take it well.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bobby’s shoulders relax. “Oh, okay. Weird to bring it up in front of his current girlfriend.”

“Agreed. My turn: who’s Priya?”

Any relaxation Bobby had found instantly evaporated as his body went rigid in the passenger’s seat. He stayed silent for a while, wringing his hands together in his lap. With an annoyed grumble, I pulled over, parking the car on the side of the street. I turned, giving him my best attempt at a reassuring look. “It’s okay, I’m not mad. You can tell me,” I said softly.

His eyes were brimming with tears as he met my gaze. After taking a shaky breath, he finally answered me. “Priya was my fiancée. She died three years ago. I kind of stopped going out after it happened. Felt wrong to be happy or have fun when she wasn’t here anymore.” 

My brain was going a million miles an hour as I processed his story.  _ Fiancee?? Dead?? Three years?? _

“Indi?” Bobby’s soft voice pulled me out of my mental spiral.

“So have you not been laid in three years??”

He paused briefly before barking out a hearty laugh. “I bear my most painful experience to you and your biggest concern is when I last slept with someone?” 

He laughed a bit more before suddenly reaching over the gear shift and pulling me into a deep kiss. I startled momentarily before leaning into it, enjoying the feeling of his soft lips moving against mine.

“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly as we finally pulled apart.

“For being you.”

My cheeks burned as I started the car back up, turning around back towards my apartment.

“Where are we going?” Bobby asked, craning his neck back towards the direction of his flat.

“Rectifying the problem,” I replied.

I saw him swallow hard before nodding quickly, making me chuckle softly.

**********

Bobby stayed uncomfortably silent on the drive back to my apartment building, not saying a word until we were walking up the steps to my door. 

“So, how many people have you slept with?” he blurted out suddenly.

“What?”

“Is it a lot?” he steamrolled past my confusion, eyes darting back and forth as I cut my gaze back at him. Standing on the step above him made me almost eye level with him as I turned to face him. 

“Depends how you define a lot,” I answered.

“More than 30.”

“Oh. Then yes. Considerably more.”

His eyes widened as he cut his gaze down to his feet. “Oh,” he muttered quietly.

“Why? How many people have you slept with?”

“Four,” he whispered.

“Four??” I asked incredulously, grabbing his chin and pushing it up, forcing him to make eye contact with me.

He nodded sheepishly, moving my hand with the movement of his head. “How many?” he asked quietly.

I sighed as I dropped his chin, resting my hand on my hip. “You’re gonna think I’m a slut.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Promise?”

He nodded, placing his hands on my waist. I sighed again, running my hands up and down his muscular arms. “68.”

“ _ What??” _

“I didn’t stutter.”

Suddenly he started giggling, squeezing my waist as he tried to hold in his laughter. “So does that mean I’d be your 69th?”

I chuckled softly, leaning my head against his shoulder. “I guess so. If you want to.”

“I do.” 

I lifted my head, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before taking his hand and jogging up the stairs, mindful to keep my speed reasonable.

^^^^^

Bobby’s hands shook with nervous energy as I pulled him inside my home, and he kicked the door closed behind himself before grabbing hold of my waist again, pulling me into his body tightly.

I gasped quietly as he tangled his fingers in my hair, pulling me into a passionate kiss. I moaned as he nipped my bottom lip, pushing my mouth open to explore it with his tongue.  _ Has it really been years for him? He’s good. Really good.  _

We continued kissing as I backed him towards my couch, pushing him down onto it. His eyes twinkled with mischief as I dropped onto his lap, resting my knees on either side of his thighs to straddle him. 

He groaned quietly as I reconnected our lips, rolling my hips against his as his tongue once again explored my mouth. Pleasure shot through my core as his quickly hardening length rubbed against me through our clothes.  _ Definitely feels big enough to blow my back out. _

Suddenly, he pulled away, fixing me with a gaze so full of heat my cheeks flushed. But underneath, there was a hint of doubt as I continued grinding against him. 

“What if I don’t measure up?” he whispered in a raspy voice.

I slowed my hips as I rested my hands on the back of his neck, pulling him in for a tender kiss. “Don’t worry about that. Experience doesn’t equal skill. Just go with it.”

He nodded as he pulled me back into a slow kiss, bringing his hands down to my hips to encourage me to roll them again.

We quickly returned to our previous pace, the passion rapidly climbing as his hands drifted under my sweater. I pulled away momentarily as he pulled the garment over my head, leaving me in just my jeans and a lacy red bra.

Bobby groaned quietly as he took me in, running his fingers lightly over the band of my bra. “You’re so fucking sexy, Inds,” he growled before tugging his own shirt off roughly.

I grinned as I ran my hands over the taut muscles of his chest and abs. “Likewise,” I replied before crashing our lips back together. 

Bobby grunted as he popped the hooks of my bra open, slowly sliding the straps down my arms before flinging it across the room.

I moaned softly into his mouth as he took my breasts in his hands, kneading firmly as he thumbed my nipples. His dick twitched against my crotch as I moaned louder.  _ Guess he likes a noisy girl. _

In one swift movement, he lifted me off his lap, setting me back down on the couch before crouching down in front of me. His eyes met mine as he hooked his hands under my knees and pulled me towards the edge of the sofa.

“Mind getting these out of my way, lass?” he asked as he toyed with the waistband of my jeans. 

I nodded quickly, lifting my hips and popping the button so he could pull them off. After tossing them to the side, Bobby started kissing up my inner thigh, pushing my legs apart with his head. My breathing picked up as he reached my lace panties, already soaked with my arousal.

He inched his thumb slowly under the edge of the damp fabric, making me whimper as he brushed across my clit. His eyes glinted with excitement as he gently tugged on the undergarment. I shook with anticipation as I lifted my hips again, letting him pull them down my legs. I giggled as he tossed the panties over his shoulder, but my laughter promptly died on my lips as he laid his tongue flat against my core.

I gasped as he slowly dragged his tongue up my folds, lapping me up like it was the best thing he’d ever tasted. He slung my legs over his shoulders as he continued working me with his tongue. 

I moaned loudly as I grasped onto his dreads, pushing his head deeper into my core. He sucked my clit into his mouth, running his tongue in circles over it as he sucked it lightly. My heart leapt into my throat as he cut his eyes up at me, his amber pools filled with a mix of lust and adoration, a look I was unfamiliar with.  _ Is this what sex with feelings is like? Fuck I didn’t realize it’d be this good. _

I closed my eyes and let my head tip back, focusing on the sensation of his warm tongue against the most sensitive part of my body. The alternation of quick, sharp flicks and long drags of his tongue across my clit swiftly brought me close to the edge, gasping and moaning as I clawed my fingers into his scalp.

Suddenly Bobby dialed up the pressure, making me cry out as I came. Waves of pleasure crashed and receded before crashing again, my legs quivering against his ears as he kissed my core gently.

As I came down from my high, Bobby crawled back onto the couch next to me, kissing me languidly. I whimpered quietly as I tasted myself on his tongue. 

“You definitely don’t need to worry about measuring up,” I breathed against lips, making him chuckle softly.

“Glad to hear it,” he replied, breath hitching when I cupped his rock hard cock through his jeans.

“We aren’t done yet though.”

Bobby groaned quietly as I undid his jeans, pulling them down with his boxers in one swift movement. My breath hitched as well as I took him in, he was definitely not lacking in size. I licked my palm before wrapping it around his length. His hips jerked into my hand as I began slowly pumping him.

As his breathing picked up and his eyes fluttered shut, I slung one leg over his lap, maintaining my hold on his dick.

“Are you sure you’re ready? You’ve been holding out for a while.”

Bobby nodded as he gripped my hips, surprising me with his strength as he lifted me up over his crotch. “I’m ready, I promise.”

I nodded as I lined his tip up with my entrance, gasping as I slid down onto his length. I rested my hands on his shoulders as I started riding him, my pace slow and sensuous. Bobby grunted quietly as I moved on him, his hands squeezing my hips tighter in an attempt to increase my pace.

A sheen of sweat began to gather on my forehead as I continued bouncing on his cock, getting faster and faster as my pleasure built. His grunts got louder and more frequent as he edged closer and closer to his release. 

“Fuck, Indi,” he growled as his brows drew together.

He moved a hand between our bodies to stroke my clit as I rode him, making me cry out. 

“Fuck  _ yes,  _ Bobby, just like that,” I whined.

My nails dug into his shoulders as I neared my orgasm. With a breathy moan, I came, my walls clamping down on his dick as my hips slowed. 

Bobby let out a low moan as he followed, releasing deep inside me. I breathed heavily as we both rode out our highs, a small smile playing on my lips.

I giggled softly as I stroked my thumb across his forehead, attempting to wipe some sweat away. His soft golden eyes met mine as he wrapped his arms around my waist, sighing happily.

^^^^^

Suddenly everything in me froze as it hit me:  _ I know those eyes.  _ All the pieces fell together: the bizarre familiarity, the similar leg injury, the dead partner, all the weird timing. 

_ Bobby is Rocky. _


	12. Mission: Ghosted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby freaks out about Indi ghosting him, but finds advice in an unlikely place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to anyone and everyone who reads this v self indulgent story my weird little brain came up with. Your comments and kudos always make me smile! 
> 
> As always, thanks a billion to my amazing beta Lauren (daisybarks) for all her help and making me look like I know how grammar works.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at @chroniccomicobsession and/or Reddit at u/ChronicComicObssess

**Bobby POV**

Five days. It had been five days since Indi and I had slept together. And five days since I had seen or heard from her. She wouldn’t return any of my calls or respond to any of my texts. I even stopped by her office, but they told me she was working from home for the week.

Laying flat on my bed, I wracked my brain as to what I could’ve done to make her ghost me. My ceiling, unfortunately, offered no clarity. I had spent the better part of the week going round and round in my head trying to figure out what had happened.  _ Why had she gone running like a stray cat I moved towards too quickly? _

Everything had seemed so great that night. I would’ve gone as far to say the sex was mind-blowing, and the look in her eyes was something I hadn’t seen yet. Probably the most affection she had ever shown me.

But something changed almost immediately after it was over. The softness in her eyes suddenly faded, replaced by something I couldn’t describe; something entirely unfamiliar. My brain drifted back to that moment for what felt like the millionth time.

**********

_ “What’s wrong?” I asked. _

_ “Oh it’s nothing! I just totally forgot I promised Lottie I would stop by her house after dinner at Chelsea’s. I gotta go, you can let yourself out,” she answered as she slid off my lap, running around to grab her clothes.  _

_ I watched her in tense silence, trying to process what was happening. Before I could formulate a response, she was dressed and out the door, leaving me naked and alone on her couch. _

**********

I groaned quietly as I once again failed to come up with an explanation for her behavior. She seemed to enjoy the night too.  _ ‘You definitely don’t need to worry about measuring up.’  _

_ Why would she say that and then ghost me? _

I thought about calling Chelsea and getting her opinion on it, but I knew if I told her, everyone in Edinburgh would know before the end of the day. I adored that sweet lass, but she didn’t know how to keep things to herself.  _ If only I had Lottie’s number. I bet she knows exactly what’s going on. And I bet she’d help me fix whatever I messed up. _

Suddenly my phone started ringing from its spot on my bedside table. I jerked up, scrambling over my own limbs to answer it. My heart fell once I saw it was only Johnno from the kitchen.

“What’s up lad?” I answered, the disappointment in my voice barely masked.

“Oi! Who pissed in your breakfast?” His gruff voice rang out through the phone’s speaker.

“It’s nothing.”

“Indi still not called?”

I grumbled quietly, annoyed at how well he could read me. “No.”

“Sorry, laddie. I know you really like her.”

“Is what it is.”

“Well I was calling to see where you left the big pot. Gumbo is on the menu tonight and we can’t find it.”

“Cupboard right next to the fridge door. Top shelf,” I replied flatly as I toyed with the end of my duvet.

“Mate. Have you tried going to her flat? You’ve not been quite like this since…” Johnno trailed off.

“Since Priya died. I know.”

“Sorry, Bobbo. I just don’t like seeing you like this.”

“I know, mate. Thanks for looking out for me. I gotta go, okay?”

Johnno sighed heavily. “Okay. Take care of yourself.”

“Will do,” I replied before hanging up, throwing myself back on my bed and tossing my phone to the side again.

As I started drawing shapes with fire, something occurred to me.  _ There’s a girl I can get advice from. One who won’t tell anyone, because she doesn’t even know who I am. _

**********

After a few more hours of anxious pacing and mental spiraling, I suited up and headed to the old flats to spar with Speedy. As I pulled myself onto the roof, I caught sight of the petite ginger. She looked uncharacteristically apprehensive, picking at her fingernails as she fidgeted in place.

“Evening, Speedy,” I called out to her, making her head snap up in surprise.

She eyed me carefully before responding. “Good evening,” she replied quietly.

“Ye alright?”

“Yeah, fine. Ready to go?”

“And here I was hoping you’d at least buy me dinner first,” I jested, throwing her a cheeky smirk.

Her response startled me. I was expecting her to roll her eyes or make a snide remark in return, but instead she tensed, her eyes snapping open widely. 

“Not hungry,” was all she said before charging towards me, throwing me into the door leading down into the building before speeding back off.

I let out a strangled gasp as the wind was knocked out of me. After collecting myself, I scanned the roof for her. 

“Feck, give me a warning first, why don’t you!” I yelled, trying to bait her to come out.

To my delight, I heard a quick  _ whoosh,  _ followed by Speedy coming to a halt in front of me. Her cheeky smirk danced at the corner of her lips.

“Would an enemy warn you?”

“No. But it pays to know your audience. And you can’t stand not having the last word,” I replied before sending a gust of wind straight into her back, knocking her face down onto the rooftop.

As she landed with a quiet ‘oof,’ I pounced on top of her, pinning her arms behind her back. With a grin, I lowered my face down to the back of her head.

“The shoe isn’t so fun on the other foot, is it?” I whispered in her ear.

She chuckled softly, shaking her head slightly. “Cockiness doesn’t suit you,” she replied before shoving her hips into the air roughly, catching me off guard and bucking me off.

She wriggled her body out from under me, speeding off before I could fully process what she’d done.  _ Damn she’s good. _

**********

We sparred for another hour, continuously grappling for the upper hand until we were both sweaty and fighting for breath.

Finally deciding to call it quits for the night, I grabbed ahold of Speedy’s arm, scared she would run away before I had a chance to talk to her.

“Speedy?”

“What?” she asked curtly, cutting her eyes up at me with an annoyed glare.

“Can I ask you a question?”

A small smile played at the corner of her lips despite her obviously fight to hold it down. “You just did.”

I let out a small snort. “Okay smart-arse. Well, I have an actual question.”

She gently extracted her arm from my grip, crossing it with the other over her chest. She gave me a short nod, indicating for me to continue.

“You’re a girl, right?”

She pursed her lips and blinked up at me rapidly. “Last I checked.”

I moved past the snide comment, at least for that moment. “So, I slept with this girl.”

“Congrats,” she replied dryly.

I rolled my eyes before cutting her a droll look. “Well I slept with her five days ago. And she hasn’t talked to me since.”

“Was it a bad shag?”

“No. At least I don’t think so....”

She sighed heavily, scrubbing her hand down her face. “Then do you have any clue why she wouldn’t be responding to you?”

I shook my head as I stared down at my feet. “Not that I can think of. I mean, I think she may have been a bit freaked that she was the first person I had slept with since Allie died.”

“Oh. Well, how do you feel about all of it?”

I jerked back, her question catching me off guard. “What do you mean?”

“Well what did you want out of it? One night stand? Friends with benefits? White picket fence?”

“I mean when I first met her, one night stand. Someone to finally just rip the bandaid off after Allie. But once I got to know her, I liked her. A lot. I couldn’t just use her, you know? I thought us sleeping together meant something, but then she ghosted me, and now I feel like a giant bellend for thinking anyone would ever care for me the way Allie did.”

She nodded slowly, lips pursed and brows drawn together. “You said she hasn’t talked to you? So how have you tried communicating with her?”

“Called and texted. Stopped by her office. They said she was working from home.”

“So, have you tried her flat?” 

I shook my head, studying her expression closely. Something about Speedy’s face seemed different. Her hard exterior seemed to have softened a bit, her eyes held something almost akin to pain.

“No I haven’t.”

“Then maybe you should.”

“Seems a bit Joe Goldberg, don’t you think?”

She chortled softly. “I said, stop by her flat and talk to her, not watch her shower. Just tell her how you feel. Show her she can trust you.”

“Okay...if this goes poorly I’ll be holding you responsible.”

She chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, but it’ll all be fine. Goodnight, Rocky. And good luck.”

“Thanks, Speedy. For everything.”

She nodded, smiling softly with a tenderness uncharacteristic of her before speeding off.  _ Let’s hope you’re right.  _

**********

My hands shook as I reached up to knock on Indi’s door. Right before my knuckles rapped against the wood, I dropped my hand, my nervousness taking hold once again.  _ Grow a pair, McKenzie. You can do this. _

I wiped my sweaty palms off on my jeans before tapping my knuckles softly against her front door. After a few seconds that felt like years, the door swung open, revealing a tired looking Indi in an oversized sweater and jeans, her curls hanging loosely down her back. 

She blinked up at me in surprise, her mouth slightly agape. “Bobby! What are you doing here?”

“What am I - What am I doing here??” I spluttered, unable to hide my incredulity at her cavalier attitude.

“Now isn’t really a good time…” she muttered, casting her eyes down.

“Not a good time?! What, do you have number 70 in there?” I spat.

She rolled her eyes and glared as she rested a hand on her hip. Wordlessly, she pushed her door open further to reveal Hope standing in her entryway hall, tapping her hands against her thighs as she gave me an awkward smile. 

“Oh. Hi, Hope. How are you?” I asked awkwardly, already feeling guilty for my knee jerk reaction. 

“I’m doing alright. Thank you for asking,” she replied before turning to face Indi. “Thank you. For everything. I’ll talk to you later?”

Indi smiled and nodded. “Yeah, of course. See you around.”

Hope returned her smile before maneuvering around me and out the door. After watching her walk away, I turned back to Indi. 

“What was she doing here?” I asked, momentarily forgetting my annoyance. 

“She tracked me down after dinner at Chelsea’s. She wanted to know what the deal with Lucas was and he wouldn’t tell her. I think she’s planning on dumping him.”

“Oh. Was she mad at you?”

Indi shook her head as she made her way back into her flat, plopping down on her couch. I tentatively followed, waiting to see if she would kick me out. Thankfully, she didn’t. 

After a few moments of tense silence she finally rose from her seat, crossing the room back to where I was standing. “So what’s up?” she asked.

“What’s up?  _ What’s up??  _ Oh, I don’t know, Indiana; maybe the fact that I haven’t seen or heard from you in almost a week. You won’t answer my calls or texts. You’ve completely ghosted me since we slept together.” I struggled to keep my voice steady as my annoyance and ire grew. 

She reared back slightly at the use of her full name. “Well I’m sorry,  _ Robert.  _ I just needed some time to sort through some things.” 

“Sort through some things?? That’s your excuse for completely ignoring me after you fucked me right there?” I exclaimed, pointing to her couch. 

Glaring, she rested her hands on her hips. “It’s complicated. I had a lot going on that I can’t really talk about. But, I mean maybe I should just fuck someone else there, since that’s clearly what you think I would do.”

“Do you blame me?? You’re not exactly the type to be tied down. You turned down Lucas for fuck’s sake!”

“So?? Why does that make you assume I would just jump in bed with someone else the second you left?”

“Because he could’ve offered you the world and you still rejected him. Why wouldn’t you do the same to a lad who can offer you nothing?!”

Her expression suddenly softened, the anger in her eyes replaced by something different. Something I couldn’t quite place. “Is that what you really think? That you can’t ‘offer’ me anything?”

I sighed, throwing myself down on her couch. “It’s just, It took all of five seconds to figure out he could give you so much more than I ever could. He's clearly rich, intelligent, handsome. And I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would want me over someone like that.”

With a sigh of her own, she sat down next to me, leaning into my side. “Yeah, Lucas is all those things. But he’s also possessive and jealous and a control freak and myriad other things I could never tolerate. And you say you have nothing to offer me, but that’s not true.”

I let out a sardonic laugh. “And what do I have to offer other than a sad past and a half decent bowl of Pad thai?”

She chuckled quietly. “Well I’ll tell you this: I don’t like to waste my time. If I thought you had nothing to offer me, I wouldn’t date you.”

“To be fair we’re hardly dating when you ghost me for a week.”

She blew out a loud breath as she toyed with the ends of her sweater. “I suppose that’s true. But I wasn’t lying when I said I had things I was working through. It’s really complicated, Bobby. But I need you to trust that it wasn’t anything you said or did. I don’t know what image you’ve built of me in your head, but I have my own shit going on too.”

I reached over and took her hand, giving it a small squeeze. “I understand. Please just promise to let me know when you need time instead of leaving me hanging?”

She offered me a small smile as she squeezed my hand back. “I’ll try my best. I’m sorry if I made you freak out or anything.”

“All water under the bridge now, lass,” I replied, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her temple. 

She smiled softly as she traced random patterns on my thigh with her finger. “Thanks, Bobby.”

“What for?”

“For being understanding. A friend kind of made me realize I had been unfair to you. I shouldn’t have ghosted you when you were probably apprehensive about sleeping with someone after your fiancée died. I should’ve been more considerate.”

She cut her eyes up at me, her green pools soft and pleading. My heart constricted when I realized it was probably the most vulnerable she’d ever been with me. 

I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “It’s okay, Indi. I’m not mad,” I said, as I pulled back and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Does that mean we can’t hate fuck now?”

I bellowed out a loud laugh as I pulled her tighter into my body. “Maybe not a hate fuck. But I wouldn’t say no to a regular one.”

With a devilish grin, she swiftly turned and swung a leg over my lap, straddling me. She slowly started to roll her hips as she leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Then what are we waiting for?”


	13. Mission: Busted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me a minute to update! I'm really busy during the semester, so I can't update super regularly. 
> 
> So many thanks to go around for this chapter! As always, thanks to Lauren (daisybarks) for beta reading and being my cheerleader! MASSIVE HUGE BIG OLE thanks to Audrey (ThoracicOrchid4) for inspiring the ending of this chapter. Both these lovely gals are super talented writers, and you should defo read their stuff if you don't already!
> 
> There's a bit of smut mid chapter, starting and ending with some '^^^^^' if that ain't your thing!

**Indi POV**

My chest heaved as I caught my breath, my head sinking down into my pillow. Bobby collapsed on top of me, his weight providing an odd sort of comfort. Smiling softly, I danced my fingertips up and down his back.  _ How did it only take me five days to miss you? _

I was pulled out of my daze by a knock at the door. I lifted my head, but Bobby didn’t move. “Babe, someone’s at the door,” I told him as I pushed his side.

He groaned as he rolled off of me. “Just stay here, lass. Let them think you’re not home.”

I chuckled before leaning over to press a quick kiss to his lips. “It’s probably Lottie. I’ll just say hi really quick and tell her I’m busy.”

He smirked, kissing me one more time. “Hurry back.”

I smiled over my shoulder as I pulled on a black silk robe. Sighing contentedly, I made my way to my front door, where there was another series of rapid knocks. Pulling the door open, I was startled when it wasn’t Lottie, but a short brunette woman, a pair of large framed glasses perched over her wide hazel eyes.

“Indiana!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me.

“Audrey! What are you doing here?” I asked as she pushed past me into my apartment, dropping her large duffel bag on the floor by the couch.

“I’m in Edinburgh for the next week for work and thought I’d stop by! Your mom gave me your address.” 

“Of course she did,” I muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing! Look now’s not a good time, but I can get you a hotel for the night and we can meet up for breakfast tomorrow.”

Before she could respond, I heard the door to my bedroom open up. “Everything alright, lass?” Bobby called out, making me groan internally.  _ Fuck _ !

I turned to face him, immensely grateful he had the good sense to pull his boxers back on before walking out. His eyes bugged out as his gaze darted between Audrey and me. “Oh, hi. Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“No, no you’re fine, hun. Bobby, this is my cousin Audrey. Audrey this is my... uh… this is Bobby,” I stuttered through introductions as I motioned between the two of them. 

“Lovely to meet you.” Audrey sauntered across the room, extending a hand out to Bobby, who shook it awkwardly. I really hated the flicker of jealousy that bubbled up in my gut as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.  _ We’re not even together. I don’t have the right to be jealous that she’s giving him fuck-me eyes. But damn it, I really fucking hate that. _

“You as well. Indi didn’t mention having any family in Scotland.”

“Oh I don’t live here. Just here for a business trip and thought I’d visit my favorite cousin,” she replied, throwing me a quick wink before turning to face Bobby again.

“Well Indi is pretty great. Can’t blame you for stopping by,” Bobby said, smirking at me over Audrey’s shoulder. I felt my cheeks flush at his small token of affection. 

“Seems like she has pretty great company over, too,” Audrey countered, putting on her best flirtatious smile.  _ Audrey, you’re really fucking lucky you’re the only family member I actually like or your ass would be out the door. _

“Are you hungry? We can whip up something for you,” I cut in, crossing the room to Bobby’s side and looping my arm with his.

“Food sounds great!” she exclaimed before unceremoniously throwing herself down on my couch.

Bobby chuckled quietly as I pulled him into the kitchen. “Is someone a little jealous?” he teased gently as I pulled out ingredients for quesadillas.

“No,” I replied curtly, not making eye contact with him.

“Aw, somebody’s jealous,” Bobby taunted in a sing-songy tone.

“I’m not!”

His grin spread even wider as he looped his arms around my waist. “There’s nothing wrong with that, lass.”

I grumbled quietly, looking down and refusing to meet his gaze. He laughed softly as he tilted my chin up with his fingers. “I think I like jealous Indi. Makes me think maybe she wants to keep me around,” he whispered before pressing his lips to mine.

I sighed softly as I sank into the kiss, pressing up on my toes to make up for our height difference. After a moment of soft, languid kissing, he groaned quietly against my lips, gripping my hips and hoisting me up onto the counter. Stepping between my knees, he pulled me into his torso, threading his fingers through my hair as his tongue slipped into my mouth.

“This doesn’t seem like a hygienic kitchen practice,” Audrey’s voice cut through the silence, effectively ending our moment. I laughed awkwardly as I pushed lightly on Bobby’s shoulder.

“Sorry Audrey. Food will be ready in a few,” I said, giving her an apologetic smile.

She shot me a cheeky grin and winked before turning and heading back into the living room. Bobby laughed lightly as he walked to the other end of the counter and started prepping our food.

“Seems like someone likes me just a little bit,” Bobby commented, his eyes twinkling as he wiggled his brows at me.

I chuckled lightly, throwing my kitchen towel at him. “Don’t go getting a big head. It won’t fit between my thighs anymore.”

“Now that would truly be a tragedy.” He smirked and winked, making my cheeks heat. 

“Can you two stop fucking in the kitchen? I’m hungry!” Audrey shouted from the living room, making me giggle.

“C’mon Bobs. Let’s eat.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Bobby replied cheekily, coming back to me and running his hands up my thighs.

I laughed lightly, shoving his hands away and hopping off the counter. “Later,” I told him sternly, biting my lip to hold back more laughter.

He groaned playfully, giving me an exaggerated pout. “Fiiiiineeee,” he finally relented. 

I chortled, moving around the kitchen to help him prepare dinner. My chest tightened as I realized how domestic it all was.  _ Would I want Bobby to be my boyfriend? Would I have to tell him about my powers first? Fuck, this is all so complicated. _

**********

After eating with Audrey and getting her settled in her hotel, Bobby and I headed back to my place. I smiled softly to myself at how easily he was fitting into my life. As I threw my keys down on the breakfast bar, my mind drifted off to my conversation with Lottie the night I figured out Bobby was Rocky. 

_ “What do you mean ‘what?’, Lottie! Bobby has fucking superpowers!” _

_ “So do you…” _

_ “So??” _

_ “So I’m failing to see why you’re freaking out.” _

_ I gave her an incredulous look. “I’m failing to see why you’re not!” _

_ Lottie sighed heavily, stopping my frantic pacing with a hand on my shoulder. “I mean, it is a bit of a surprise. But honestly, isn’t it a good thing? Now you know he’s the sort of person you can trust. He knows what this whole life is like.” _

_ I grumbled quietly as I threw myself down on her couch. “I guess… But how do I even bridge the topic? ‘Oh hey no need to hide your powers from me anymore. I have them too and we’ve been running around together trying to find Kirstie, both clueless to who the other actually is! I figured it all out after we fucked.’” _

_ Lottie let out an exasperated sigh. “That may not be the best wording, but you could still talk to him. Then maybe you let each other in, maybe be happy for a change.” _

_ I scoffed. “I’m happy!” _

_ Lottie rolled her eyes, cutting me a droll look. “Are you? You don’t trust anyone, almost no one actually knows you, and the only relationships you have are meaningless sex.” _

_ “And?” _

_ “And that’s no way to live, Di.” _

_ “I’m fine.” _

_ “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t lie to me,” Lottie said sternly. I sucked in a breath as I met her gaze, her bright green eyes piercing me with such an intensity I felt my eyes well up. _

_ “Sorry,” I mumbled. _

_ “It’s okay, babes. I just really wish you would let go once in a while, let yourself enjoy things.” _

“Indi?” Bobby’s soft voice pulled me out of my memories.

“Hmmm? Sorry, I was kind of lost in thought.”

Bobby smiled adoringly, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me close. He pressed a gentle kiss to my temple before setting his chin on top of my head. 

“Lass?”

“Hmmm?” I replied dazedly as I inhaled his cologne.

“Can I ask you something?”

I smiled to myself, fighting the urge to reply with something snarky about how he just did. “Sure, hun.”

“How tall are you?”

I chuckled, rolling my eyes playfully as I leaned back to look at him. “An even five feet, unfortunately. Plagued me all my life.”

“I quite like it. You’re like my own little sprite. But like, one who could kill me without even blinking.”

I threw my head back and laughed, smacking his arm playfully. “And don’t you forget it.”

“Oh trust me, I won’t,” he jested.

The way his eyes crinkled up as he laughed made my breath catch in my throat. Gazing up at him, I realized once again just how fucking gorgeous he was. The constellation of freckles that dusted his nose and cheekbones managed to send my heart racing every time I saw them. His golden eyes, the ones that were so specific to him, melted my insides like nothing else in this world. 

^^^^^

I bit my lip as I looked up at him, pushing on my toes to cover his plush lips with mine. He startled for a moment before leaning into it, drifting his hands down to dig his fingers into my hips. 

I laid my hands flat on his chest, guiding him backwards until the back of his legs hit my couch. With a low groan, he dropped onto the cushions, pulling me down onto his lap. 

I rolled my hips against his as he palmed my breasts, kneading the soft flesh with his agile fingers. 

My hands slowly traveled down his chest and abdomen until they reached the button of his jeans, which I popped with ease. 

He mumbled something incoherent against my lips as I slipped my hand under the fabric of his boxers, slowly pumping him with my hand. 

“Mind getting these out of my way?” I asked, my voice low and raspy. He stared at me wide eyed as I pulled my hand out of his pants and slipped off his lap onto the floor in between his legs. 

“Well?” I prodded, tugging on the waistband of his pants. 

Suddenly he sprung into action, whipping his pants and underwear off in one fell swoop. I giggled, then ran my tongue up the length of his cock, pulling a moan out of his parted lips. 

I thought about teasing him, kissing and stroking until he begged me to finally offer him some relief, but I needed him too. I pulled him into my mouth, plunging all the way down to the base. He gasped as I moved my lips along his dick. 

I kept going, alternating between suction up and down his length and teasing his head with my tongue. He tangled one hand in my hair as the other gripped the back of the couch, knuckles going white as he neared his release. 

“Fuck, Indi. I’m gonna come,” he breathed out. 

I cut my eyes up at him, batting my eyelashes as I pushed him all the way back until his tip hit my throat. I swallowed a few times, using the muscles of my throat to massage him. 

With one last grunt, he released into my mouth, his taste washing over my tongue. After swallowing, I pushed myself back into his lap, draping my legs over his and laying my head on his shoulder. 

^^^^^

“What was that for?” he asked breathlessly as he ran his fingers through my hair. 

“Another apology. For disappearing on you.”

“All water under the bridge now, lass.”

I turned my head up to look at his face. He still looked blissed out, smiling softly as he wrapped a few of my curls around his long fingers.  _ God, you’re so handsome.  _

“Would you like something to drink, love? I can make a mean cocktail,” he offered. 

“Sure. Thanks hun.” I hopped off his lap and tossed his pants at him, making him chuckle. 

I plopped back down on the couch as I listened to Bobby move around in my kitchen. Before long, he came back out with two bright red drinks in hand. 

“Cheers lass.”

“Cheers,” I replied before clinking my glass with his. Taking a sip, I coughed a bit as the strong liquor burned the back of my throat. 

Bobby chuckled as he watched me try to palate the alcohol. “You alright?”

“Sorry I just don’t drink very often.”

“Oh, so you’re a lightweight?” he teased, quirking an eyebrow up.

I rolled my eyes, hating how he could so easily flare up my competitive side. “I mean, I’m no Scot, but I can drink,” I lied. I actually had a very low alcohol tolerance. I usually avoided drinking, never wanting to be out of control.

“That sounds like a challenge,” he stated, downing his drink in one large gulp.

“Oh really?”

“Aye.”

His eyes twinkled with mischief as he held my gaze. _ This is a bad idea. I know this is a bad idea. I shouldn’t do this, I  _ **_really_ ** _ shouldn’t. _

I smirked as I threw back my drink, wincing slightly before slamming the cup down on my coffee table. He chuckled as he watched me. “I think you’re going to regret that, lass.”

I shrugged, picking my glass back up and handing it to him. “We’ll see.”

We continued going shot for shot until my eyes glazed over and my words started to slur. Bobby watched on in amusement as I continued getting more and more inebriated, all the while he remained almost completely sober.

After our eighth shot, I could barely see straight. Bobby laughed quietly as he took a hold of my arm and tried to guide me to my bedroom. “God, you really are a lightweight,” he commented.

“I’m not! I’m a strong, independent woman,” I slurred.

“You sure are, lass. Let’s get to bed.”

“No! I’m fine!”

“Can you even walk in a straight line?” he asked.

“I could do so much more than that! I could run through this entire city in 60 seconds flat.”

Bobby gave me a weird look, one I probably could’ve processed better if I hadn’t been so fucking drunk. “Okay.... well, how about we just get you to your bed for now.”

“You wanna see?” The small part of my brain that still had a shred of reason was screaming at me to stop, but I couldn’t hear it past the alcohol clouding my decision making.

“What?”

Before I could think better of it, I had run to the other side of the room at top speed, knocking an end table over in the process. Bobby’s jaw dropped as he watched me, his eyes wide and frantic as he tried to process what I’d just done.

But in my drunk brain, everything was fine. “Oops!”

“Indi…” Bobby said cautiously, his voice shaky and apprehensive.

“I’m soooo fucking fast!” I giggled as I zoomed around the room, not noticing the horrified look on Bobby’s face. I smacked headfirst into the wall, snickering briefly before taking off again. 

“Indi, stop!” Bobby said sternly.

I came to a halt in the middle of the kitchen. “What?”

“We’re going to get you some coffee and sober you up. Because we need to talk.”

  
  



End file.
